Letters from a gentleman in the North of Scotland to his friend in London ... likewise an account of the Highlands with the customs and manners of the Highlanders ..

UiniDH AN LEA5HAK 50

I/O

JHTIMER STREET. W.

Presented to the

LIBRARY of the

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

by

JOSEPH BUIST

. '//f

i

LETTERS

FROM A

GENTLEMAN IN THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND

TO

HIS FRIEND IN LONDON;

CONTAINING THE DESCRIPTION OF A CAPITAL TOWN IN THAT NORTHERN

COUNTRY, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF SOME UNCOMMON

CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS;

LIKEWISE

AN ACCOUNT OF THE HIGHLANDS,

WITH

^fie Customs anfc JWanntrs of tfje f%'gDlante.

TO WHICH IS ADDED,

A LETTER, RELATING TO THE MILITARY WAYS AMONG THE
MOUNTAINS, BEGUN IN THE YEAR 1726.

THE FIFTH EDITION,

AND

A LARGE APPENDIX,

CONTAINING VARIOUS IMPORTANT HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, HITHERTO
UNPUBLISHED; WITH AN

INTRODUCTJ0& ANf»N#TES,

BY THE EDITOR,

R. JAMIESON, F.A.S. LOND..& EDIN.

Corresponding Member of the Scandinavian Literary Society of Copenhagen, <Jc.

AND'

THE HISTORY OF DONALD THE HAMMERER,

From an Authentic Account of the Family of Invernahyle ; a MS. communicated by

SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.
LONDON:

PRINTED FOR OGLE, DUNCAN, AND CO. 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, AND

295, HOLBORN; OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH; M. OGLE,

GLASGOW; AND M. KEENE, DUBLIN.

1822.

OF

THE FIRST VOLUME.

INTRODUCTION to the Fifth Edition Page xv..

LETTER I.

INTRODUCTION. — Familiarity the basis of this corre^
spondence. — To be shown to one friend only. — Rea-
sons for this stipulation. — Genius of a people known
only by their native manners. — Folly of being of-
fended at descriptions of one's country. — Highland-
ers little known to the Low Country, Still less to
the English. — Scantiness of written information re-
specting the Highlands. — Lowlands have been mis-
represented.— Notice of a work called ' A Journey
through Scotland'— Old seats in Scotland— Plan
of this correspondence — The descriptions mostly
from personal knowledge-^-Danger of letters being

intercepted — Egotism excused 1 — 10

VOL. I. b

I

VI CONTENTS. .

LETTER II.

Manner in which the introductory part of these Let-
ters originated — Passage of the Tweed at Kelso—
The inn and its accommodations — Innkeeper a gen-
tleman— Potted pigeons — Disgusted, and quit the inn
— First impressions -A specimen of cookery — Miser-
able bedding — Excellent linen— -Edinburgh— Height
of houses there— Tavern — Description of the cook —
City drum — A guide for protection in passing the
streets- — Public nuisance — Number of families in
a house— Site for a new city — Rejected, and why —
Tedious mode of directing strangers — The cawdys
and their constable — Leave Edinburgh — Glasgow, its
uniformity and neatness — Church at Linlithgow —
Formerly a cathedral — Its neglected state — A curious
remark — Leave Glasgow— Road — Contradictory in-
formation—Romantic appearance of the moun-
tains—Poverty of the towns— Singular custom of
quitting houses when old— Disagreeable smell of
fishing-towns— Cattle smaller towards the North of
Scotland 11—32

LETTER III.

Melancholy situation of a town without manufacture
and foreign trade— Ought to be particularly attend-
ed to by governments — Poverty, simply considered,
not a subject for ridicule — Insipid jests — Inverness —
Its situation — A royal borough — Its government —
Capital of the Highlands — Inhabitants speak Eng-
lish— Castle — Formerly a regal palace — Discovery of
a corpse — Conjecture of a native respecting it —
Mary Queen of Scots — Castle in danger — Bridge and

CONTENTS. Yil

toll — Country people wade the river rather than
pay — Salmon — Seals — Their singular appearance —
Occasion the fiction of a mermaid — Appearance of,
on dissection — Mode of taking — Keen sight of — Silly
notions respecting — Women washing linen at the
river— Partiality for this mode — Tolbooth, or county
gaol — Frequency of escapes — A guess at their cause
— Arbitrary conduct of Chiefs — Their policy — A
particular instance — Endeavour to keep clans poor —
Mean Artifice— Military habits — Town-hall— Mar-
ket-cross— Coffee-house — Churches — Anecdote —
Church-yard and monuments — -Style of building- —
Denomination of houses — Not lofty, and why —
Roughness of building — Rats frequent — Their pro-
digious numbers — Ignorant supposition respecting —
Singular conveyance — Weasels — Houses internally
described — 111 contrived — Windows 33 — 61

LETTER IV.

Inferior houses — Pavement — Want of cleanliness — A
singular practice — Remarkable inscriptions — Shops
— Ridiculous affectation — Merchants — Their vanity
— Pride of birth in the lower class — Singular conde-
scension — Pride of birth exemplified in a piper —
Ridiculous effect of this vanity on strangers — Evil
of such conceits — Lower class — Their wretched po-
verty— Laborious occupation of women — Brogues —
Carts — Drivers — Harness — Horses unshod — Ill-con-
trived wheels — Public curiosity at a chariot—Scar-
city of pasture — W retched state of horses in winter —
Grass — Great scarcity of hay — Fairs at Inverness —

Poverty 62—81

62

•

Vlll CONTENTS.

LETTER V.

Fairs continued — Dress —A curious precaution — Plaid
the undress of ladies — Mode of wearing distinguish
whig and tory — Handsome women— Maid-servants
—Their poverty — Their labour and small wages —
Strange habits — Seldom wear shoes — Reflection on
their condition — Children of the poor — Their wretch-
ed appearance— Their dress — Frequency of a loath-
some distemper — Merchants and magistrates — 'Their
marrow-mindedness — Suspicion — Mean artifices of
shopkeepers — A candid proposal, and its effects —
Will not lend without a pledge — Distinction between
a measure for buying and selling — Jealousy- — Sol-
diers the best tradesmen — Education 82 — 101

LETTER VI.

Visit to a laird's lady — Conversation — Opinion of Eng-
lish ladies —Comparison between the English and
Scotch — Illustration — Insincerity — Indolence of
working tradesmen — Want of enoouragement-^-Best
workmen emigrate — Fishermen — their indolence —
Women bring them and their fish to land — Remark-
able pride — Lower class object to particular trades
— Backward in giving information — Their lodgings —
Ludicrous appearance — Bedding — Opinion respect-
ing the English in eating — Considered and refuted
— Provisions, prices of — Anecdote — Indebted to the
English originally for vegetables — Highlanders refuse
to eat pork — Influence of chiefs — Animal food —
English inn — Hares and birds numerous — Partridges
— River fish — Inhabitants refuse to eat eels and pike
— Do not engage in field exercises — Salmon, from its

CONTENTS. IX

plenty, considered a common food — Anecdote — Pa-
rental distress ,,,.......102—126

LETTER VII,

Complaint against the English — Cheapness of provi"
sjons — Curious law respecting the green plover —
Highland baronet — Hospitality — Meanness — High-
land cookery — Anecdote — Comparison with the Eng-
lish— French claret — Brandy — The laird of Culloden
•. — His hospitality — Humorous contrivance — Hounds,
and hace-hunting — Foxes— Beggars, numerous and
importunate — Police — :A Frenchman's comment —
Highland thriftiness — A diverting instance of— Com
mon sayings — Kitchens filthy — An instance of, and
remarks on — Butter, — Filthy state of public inns —
Landlords — Their want of ceremony — Pride of
family— A ridiculous instance of.. 137 — 149

LETTER VIII.

Correspondence interrupted — Reason of — Visit to a
Highland chief — Account of the expursion — Occur-
rences on the way — Arrival at the castle— Reception
— Entertainment— Musicians — Style of dinner — Os-
tentation—Number of Highlanders in attendance —
Chief engrosses the conversation — Departure — Re-
turn— Remarks — Wretched stables — Trial of patience
— Highland ale — The pint stoop — A dialogue — Eng-
lish spoken at Inverness— Irish in the Lowlands—-
Herring fishery— Instance of a plentiful season —
Fraud on salt duty — Appointment of a new officer —
Is bribed — Intimidated by a smuggler — Curious con-
sequences— Importations — Attempt to prohibit brandy
— Scarcity of port — Soldiers — Wretched quarters — A

X CONTENTS.

complaint — Honour among merchants — Ministers
and their stipends — Style of discourses — Strongly
object to personal decoration — Force of flattery

150—170

LETTER IX.

Ministers appear to disregard morality in their ser-
mons— Their prayers — Extempore preaching — Dan-
ger of — Mistakes in — An instance of — Approval of a
minister at Edinburgh — Extracts from a sermon —
Lilly the astrologer — Improvement of young ministers
— Ministers circumscribed in their intercourse —
Their strict observance of the sabbath — Are much
revered by the people — Their strictness — Instance of
— In synod assume great authority — Neglect of the
kirk — Its consequences — Meeting of synod — Whim-
sical saying — Watchful of the female character —
Singular marriage by declaration — Power of the
kirk to compel— Routine for enforcing — Penance —
Injudicious application of — Fatal occurrence — Power
of the presbytery — Instance of — Doing penance —
Style of ministerial rebuke — Power of ministers with
the bulk of the people — Instance of — Kirk treasurer
— His spies — Frequent service on Sunday — Kirk
bell— Music bells 171—197

LETTER X.

•A •••progress among the mountains — Guide and his dis-
course— Mountain scenery — Extravagant gratitude
of a Highlander — Reflection on the condition of
Highlanders — Curious letter from a young High-
lander in America— Remarks on 198—210.

'

CONTENTS. XI

LETTER XI.

Episcopalians — Remarkable instance of disloyalty —
Nonjuring ministers — Political cast of their instruc-
tions— Weddings — Penny, or servant's wedding —
— Do not use the ring — Custom of plunging infants
into water — Christening — Admonition to parents
Funerals — Mode of invitation to— Of procession —
Bagpipe — Funerals among the higher class — Enter-
tainment at — Excessive drinking — Minister has no
demand for christening, marrying, or burial — Incon-
venience of burial fees in England — Oliver Crom-
well's fort — His army — His colours 21 1 — 224

LETTER XII.

The name of Cromwell disliked by the Highlanders —
His successes — Inverness quay — A remarkable hill,

%

said to be inhabited by fairies and frequented by
witches — Notion of judges respecting witches — Trial
at Hertford — Trial of two Highland women, a mo-
ther and daughter, accused of witchcraft — Their
condemnation and reputed confession — Gross ab-
surdity of such imputations — Said to have been used
as an engine of political power — Danger of ex-
posing this notion — Island on the river Ness — Plan-
tation— Moor-stones — Soldiers raise immense blocks
of stone — Anecdote — The laird of Fairfield — Fre-
quency of mortgage — Daughter's portion — Usury-
prohibited ,..,.235—240

LETTER XIII.

Castle of Culloden — Female courage — Parks — Dis-
appoint an English officer — Arable land — Plowing

Xll CONTENTS.

—Poverty of labourers — Corn cut while green —
Wages of labourers — Kinds of grain— Scanty pro-
duce— Trades — Improved by communication with
the soldiers — Partiality of the Scotch for their coun-
trymen— Distress during scarcity — Anecdote — De-
scription of Fort-William and Maryburgh — Houses
built of wood — These Letters designed to contain
nothing that may be found elsewhere — Answer to an
inquiry — Account of Inverness and country around
concluded — White hares and small birds on the
$nowy mountains ,..., 241 — 267

LETTER XIV.

Account of a Highlander executed for murder — Causes
of its perpetration — His desperate resistance and
concealment — Is visited by ministers — His singular
conduct — His execution and desperate conduct —
Incendiaries in Glengary — Origin of the occurrence
— Failure of the attack — Visit to a laird — The com-
pany— Witchcraft— Minister's opinion — A contro-
versy— Ludicrous story of a witch and a Highland
laird — Certified by four ministers — Author's incre-
dulity— His remarks — Reply — Arguments — Witch of
Endor— Copernicus and Psalms of David — Egotism
excused — Moliere's physician — Bigotry of the clergy

to received notions 258 — #77

.
LETTER XV.

Retrospect— ^Difference between inhabitants of the
Highlands and Lowlands — Extent of the Highlands
— Natural Division — Language cannot describe
scenery of — Appearance of the hills — Summits
covered with snow — Proof of the deluge — Hills

CONTENTS.

covered With heath — Trees, difficulty of removing
— Bridge of snow — Deep hollows — Gray mare's tail
— Tremendous waterfalls Similarity of Highland
scenery — Terrific view of hills from East to West —
Ben-Nevis—Travellers seldom reach the top— Dif-
ficulties of travelling — Contrast — Minerals — Use of
mountains— The strath — The glen — Journal of two
days' progress among the hills — Monts — Their im-
mense number — Preparations for the journey— Ser-
vant and guide — Danger of being lost — The ferry —
Ancient boat— Horses swim well 278 — 298

LETTER XVI.

Steep and stony hills — A bourn — Wood of fir — Bog —
Danger from roots of trees — Grass rare — Discover
a Highlander — A pleasure of the mind — Crossing a
ford — Dangerous pass — Crossing a bog — Precaution
— Horse sinks — Escapes with difficulty- — Highland
horses accustomed to bogs — New difficulties — Stony
moors — Comforts of discovering a habitation —
Dangerous ford — Best mode of passing — A whimsi-
cal expedient — Highlanders wade the rivers — Dan-
gers to which they are exposed — Frequent loss of
life — Inn — Dangerous stabling — Oats — D welling-
house— A Highland toast .299—310

LETTER XVII.

Superior accommodation— Landlord's intrusion — Trou-
blesome interpreter — Inquisitive and curious conduct
Smoke — Peat fire — Supper — Bed — Military exploits
— Breakfast — New guide — A carne — Dangerous pass
of the mountains — Effect of terror — Examples of —
Highland horses — Eagles — Meet a Highland chief-

CONTENTS.

tain — His behaviour — Arrival at an inn — A culinary
insult — Hard eggs — Ignorant landlord — Highland
huts — Dislike of trees — Fruit-trees — A tempest —
Losing the way — Guide's distress — Dread of the
English — Pleasing discovery — Danger from drifts of
snow- . ..,..,.311—326

LETTER XVIII.

Whirlwinds — Inn — Burlesque — Curious visitor — Peat
smoke — Great fall of rain — Danger of being shut iu
by — A Highlander lost in the mountains — County
of Athol — Part of ancient Caledonia — A tract well
cultivated — Highlanders originally from Ireland —
* Spenser's View of Ireland ' — National pride — Sta-
ture of the Highlanders — Deformity — Some general
assertions ridiculous — Gasconade — Remedy against
fever — Esculapian honour — Additional remarks —
Frequent rain — Shallow and stony soil — Clouds —
Pursuit of a rainbow — Teneriffe — Source of rivers
— Lakes — Loch Ness — Its great depth — Cataracts —
Lakes on hills — Strath-Glass — A lake always frozen
— Waterfall — Danger and difficulty of crossing rivers
— Usky merchants — Agreeable company — Bogs —
Hills— Dangers of — Scarcity of trees — Anecdote —
Value of land ...327—344

INTRODUCTION

X

TO THE

FIFTH EDITION.

THE author of the following letters (the ge-
nuineness of which has never been questioned in
the country where the accuracy of his delinea-
tions may best be appreciated) is commonly
understood to have been CAPTALN BURT, an
officer of engineers, who, about 1730, was sent
into Scotland as a contractor, &c. The cha-
racter of the work is long since decided by
the general approbation of those who are most
masters of the subject; and so large a body of
collateral evidence respecting the then state of
the Highland's has been brought forward in the
Appendix and Notes, that it will be here only
necessary to add such notices and remarks as

XVi INTRODUCTION.

may tend to illustrate the subject in general,
as well as to prepare the reader for what is
to follow.

And first, it may be expected that somewhat
should be said of the antiquity of the High-
landers, and the unmixed purity of their Celtic
blood and language, of which they are more
proud than of other more valuable distinctions
to which they have a less questionable claim.

Whence the first inhabitants of our moun-
tains came, or who they were, it would now
be idle to inquire. They have no written
annals of their own ; and the few scattered
notices respecting them that remain, are to be
gathered from strangers, who cannot be sup-
posed to have had any accurate knowledge of
their traditions concerning themselves. That
a large portion of their population once was
Celtic, cannot be doubted ; but of this distinc-
tion, there seems to be less understood than
the learned have commonly supposed. The
traditions, superstitions, and earliest impres-
sions of all the nations of the west, of whom, in
a less cultivated state, we have any knowledge,

INTRODUCTIONS XVII

seem to point to the east, " the great cradle of
mankind," as the land of their fathers; and we
consider the Golhs and Celts as deriving their
origin as well as their language from the same
source ; the Celts having been the earlier, and
the Goths the later wanderers westward. Al-
though their complexion, language, religion,
and habits, formed urider different skies, and
in different circumstances, exhibited in the
end different appearances ; yet, the farther
back that we are able to trace them, the
stronger the marks of identity are found to be ;
and presumptive evidence must, be admitted,
where positive proof is not to be expected.
Of this kind of evidence, a very curious ex-
ample is to be found in the end of the seventh
book of Temora, where the following striking
apostrophe occurs : —

" Ullin, a Charuill, a Raoinne^
Guthan aimsir a dh' aom o shean,
Cluinneam sibh an dorcliadas Shefma.
Agus mosglaibhse anam nan dan.
Ni 'n cluinneara sibh, shil nam fonn :
Cia an talla do neoil bheil ur suain ?

Xvill INTRODUCTION.

Na thribhuail sibh clarsach nach troro,
An truscan ceo maidne is gruaim,
Far an eirich ga fuimear a* girian
O stuaidh nan ceann glas?

Literally thus in English :

0 Ullin, Carruil, and Rouno,

Voices of the time that has given way of old,
Let me hear you in the darkness of Selina,
And awaken the spirit of songs. —

1 hear you not. children of melody ;

[In] what hall of clouds is your [rest] slumber ?

Strike ye the harp that is not heavy,

In the gloomy robes of the mist of the morning,

Where the sun rises very sonorous

From the grey-headed waves?

Now, we know that all nations, having no
light but that of nature to guide them, espe-
cially when in difficult circumstances, look
with fond aspirations towards the land of their
fathers, to which they believe and hope that
their souls after death will return. This was
the belief of the Goths in their state of pro-
bation in Scandinavia, and the hall of Odin was
in Asgard ; and here we find the Caledonian
bard, in the true spirit of the ancient and original

INTRODUCTION.

belief of his countrymen, supposing the hall of
the rest of his departed friends to be in the
east, where the sun rises.*

But whoever the first settlers were, their
state was so precarious, that the same dis-
tricts were continually changing their masters,
sometimes in possession of one tribe, some-
times of another, sometimes of Goths, some-
times of Celts, and finally, of a mixed race
composed of both. In the earliest periods of
which history or tradition have preserved any
memorials, the characters and, habits of life of
the inhabitants of the Scotish Highlands and
Isles, and of the Northern Men, with whom
they had constant intercourse, so nearly re-
sembled each other, that what is said of one,
may be with equal justice applied to the other;
and even their languages bear the nearer re-
semblance to each other, the further back that

* This is only one of many passages in the poems
ascribed to Ossian, which cannot reasonably be suspected,
because they refer to things which the compilers had no means
of knowing ; the beauty of the poetry has preserved it ; but it
is in direct opposition to all their own idle theories, and
therefore all the commentators have passed it over in silence.

XX INTRODUCTION*

they are traced. Almost all the great Highland
clans know not only whence they came to their
present settlements, whether from Ireland,
Norway, or the Scotish Lowlands, but many
of them know the precise time of their emigra-
tion. Of those who came from Ireland, the
Celtic origin may well be doubted. We know
that the Goths had established themselves in
that island as early as the third century, and
that Cork, Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, &c.
were built by them.* As the descendants of
these colonists were mariners and pirates, like
their fathers, they kept to the sea-coast, and
were therefore more likely than up-landers to
remove, in the case of distress, discontent, or

* In the Irish legend of Gadelus and Scota^ their language
is brought from Scythiat to which, in the lax sense in which
that appellation was commonly used, we see no great objection ;
and Gadelus is called the son of NIULL, a name which has
from time immemorial been peculiar to the Goths of the North
and their descendants; so long ago was all distinction between
Gothic and Celtic lost among the Irish ! — The Irish dictionary
of O'Reilly Cso creditable to the zeal and industry of the com-
piler) is a curious proof of this confusion of identity, as it con-
tains, at least, ten Norse and Anglo-Saxon words, for one that
is decidedly Celtic,

INTRODUCTION. XXI

want of room at home, to the Scotish High-
lands and Isles. That many of these isles
were inhabited by Goths from Scandinavia, at
a very early period, is evident from the tra-
ditions, poetry, and tales, of the Highlanders.
Indeed, with respect to some of them, no
traces remain of their having ever had any
other permanent inhabitants.* With the his-
tory of the more recent arrival of the Northern
Men in Orkney, Shetland, Caithnes, Suther-
land, &c. we are better acquainted from the
Icelandic historians; and of the Hebridians
and Highlanders, properly so called, the great
clans of M'Leod, M'Lean, M'Neill, Sutherland,
M'lver, Graham (Gram), Bruce (Bris), £c.
are confessedly from the same quarter ; if the
M'Donalds and M'Kenzies (to the latter of
whom we attach the M'Raas) came imme-

* The oldest appellation by which the Hebrides are known
to have been designated was Innse nan Gall^ " The isles of
the strangers." The ancient kingdom of Galvcay in Ireland
had its denomination from the same circumstance ; and the wild
Scot of Galloway in Scotland can hardly be presumed to have
been a Celt.

VOL. T. C

XXU JNTRODUCJION.

diately from Ireland, their designations never-
theless show that they were not originally
Celtic ; the Frazers (de Frcsale), and the
Chisholms (whose real name is Cecil) went
from the Lowlands, as did the Gordons, and
the Stewarts of Appin and Athol ; the Ken-
nedies (one of the last reclaimed of all the
clans) were from Carrick and its neighbour-
hood ; the Campbells (de campo bdlo) are al-
lowed to be Normans ; the Murrays, as well as
the M'Intoshes, M'Phersons, and other branches
of the Clan Chattan* are generally understood
to have come from the interior of Germany;
and, in short, with the exception of the
Mac Gregors, their descendants the Mac Nabs,

* The name of Cameron CLat. Camemrius) seems to have
been at first a title of office, such as could not have originated
hi the Highlands. It answers to the Scotish and English
Chalmers, Chaumers, Chambers, Chamberlain, &c. M'Kay is
spelt at least a dozen different ways; but, as it is uniformly
pronounced by the Highlanders, it seems to mean the son of
Guy. — But the three oldest worthies in the genealogical tree of
the Reay family stand thus : Morgan Mac Magnus Vic Alaster
{Alexander) ; a delectable jumble of British, Gothic, and
Greek names, for the foundation of an hypothesis !

INTRODUCTION, XXlU

the [Irish?] Mac Arthurs, and a few others of
inferior note, there seem to be none of the
ancient Celtic race remaining.

How the men were thus changed, while the
language continued, is easily accounted for.
The frequent appeals made to the king by
chiefs at war among themselves, sometimes
drew upon them the chastisement of the Scotish
government, which was fond enough of seizing
such opportunities of extending its own influ-
ence. Expeditions were fitted out, encourage-
ment was given to the neighbours of the devoted
party to join their array, and wherever the
army went, submission and order were pro-
duced for the time ; but the state of the coun-
try remained the same as before. The posses-
sions of the parties against whom the vengeance
of the invaders was directed, were given,
partly to new settlers from the Lowlands, and
partly to their more powerful or more politic
neighbours, as a bribe to ensure their favour to
the new arrangements. These colonists, being
mostly young male adventurers, consulted their
own interest and security by marrying women

c 2

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

of the country, and the children of such mar-
riages, being left in childhood entirely to the
care of their mothers, grew up perfect High-
landers in language, habits, and ideas, and were
nowise to be distinguished from their neigh-
bours, except that, perhaps, they were less
civilized, being strangers to the cultivation pe-
culiar to the country of their fathers, without
having acquired in its full virtue that of the
country in which they were born.

The Scandinavians, who over-ran a great part
of the isles and adjacent districts of the main-
land, brought few women from their own coun-
try, and their descendants were naturalized in
the same manner ; and the best dialect of the
Gaelic is now spoken by those clans whose Gothic
extraction has never been disputed. Their tales,
poetry, and traditions, continued with the lan-
guage in which they had always been delivered
down from one generation to another.*

* " How ehall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land ?"
is an exclamation, the pathos of which can never be fully ap-
preciated by him, who has never quitted the land of his fathers.
The bodies and understandings of men are more easily trans-

INTRODUCTION. XXV

From the accounts to be found in various
parts of this work, particularly in the Gartmore
MS. it will be seen that, from the manner in
which the lands, the superiority of which be-
longed to the chief of a clan, were portioned
out by division and subdivision, according to
proximity of blood* to the cadets of great fami-
lies, the aboriginal inhabitants of the country
must in the end have been actually shouldered
out of existence, because no means were left
for their support, and consequently they could
not marry and be productive. These men,
attached by habit, language, and prejudice, tq

ferred from one region to another, than their spirit, particularly
that spirit which is the sourcj, soul, and essence of poetry; and
we know of no colonists, properly so called, that have produced
any good original poetry. The Greek colonies ceased to be
poetical as soon as their identity with the parent states ceased ;
the Goths, Lombards, Burgundians, Franks, Npxmans, Anglo-?
Saxons, and Danes, had plenty of mythic, heroic, and romantic
poetry in their own country, which continued to be the delight of
the generations that emigrated, while their original impressions
remained ; but they produced nothing of the kind in their new
settlements. It was the same with the Scandinavians, who
settled in the Highlands and Issles ; and we are of opinion, that,
of all the fine national poetry of the old school, preserved till a
late period among our mountaineers, none was composed after

XXVI INTRODUCTION.

their native country, upon which they had little
claim but for benevolence, became sorners and
sturdy beggars, and were tolerated and sup-
ported, as the Lazzaroni were in Naples, and
as Abraham-men, and sturdy beggars of all sorts,
were in England, after the suppression of the
monasteries, and before there was any regular
parochial provision for the poor. From this
system it arose, that each Highland clan at last
actually became what they boasted themselves
to be — one family, descended from the same
founder, and all related to their chief, and to
each other. If the chiefs of so many such cla)is
were Goths, how is it possible that the pure Celtic

the arrival of these strangers among them. The Goths lost
their own poetry, with their language ; and although locality,
with the prejudices and enthusiasm thence arising, added to the
astonishing retentiveness of memory, produced by constant
habit and exercise (which disappears upon the introduction of
letters), preserved among their descendants the Gaelic strains
which they found in the country, with the language in which
they were clothed ; the spirit, feeling, and irresistable impulse
which first inspired them, died away, and nothing new of the
same kind was afterwards attempted with any success. If these
observations are allowed to be just, they will serve to throw
considerable light upon a subject which has hitherto given" rise
to much unreasonable and ill-judged cavilling.

INTRODUCTION. XXV11

blood should have continued its current, unpolluted,
among them, till the present day? The Celtic
form of their language has been sufficiently
accounted for; and its identity with the Irish
proves nothing more than what we know to
have been the case, that both dialects, having
passed through nearly the same alembic, have
come out of nearly the same form, with much
more purity than could well have been ex-
pected, and much less than their admirers have
generally claimed for them.

For the illustration of the characters and
manners of our mountaineers, such as they were
in the days of our author, it will not be neces-
sary to go further back in time than the period
when their condition began to differ from that
of their neighbours, and submission and tribute
were required of them by the kings of Scot-
land, to whom they owed no homage, and
whose general enmity was less to be feared
than their partial protection. Their liberty,
their arms, and the barren fastnesses of their
country, were almost all that they could call
their own ; a warlike race of men, under such

XXV111 INTRODUCTION.

circumstances, are not likely to give up their
all with good will; and those who had not
enough for themselves, must have been little
disposed to contribute any thing for the support
of a power which it was certainly not their in-
terest to strengthen.

Emigrants from Ireland, or from Scandina-
via (most of whom had withdrawn from the
usurpations of a sovereignty in their own coun-
try, to which their proud spirits could not
submit),* whether they obtained their settle-
ments by conquest or by compact, as they had
been accustomed to consider their swords as
the sole arbiters of their rights, were not likely
to put their acquisitions at the mercy of a king
to whom they owed no allegiance, so long as
they had the means of asserting their inde-
pendence. Of the state of our own moun-
taineers when these strangers first arrived
among them, we know very little ; but the
Irish, with whom they had constant intercourse,

* See Snorro's Keimskringla, Orkneyingafaga, the History
of the Kings of Man and the Isles, Torfceus, 6fc.

INTRODUCTION. XXIX

and who inhabited a much finer country,* must
have been in a very rude state indeed, when
they suffered themselves to be conquered by a
handful of Englishmen. But whatever the pre-
vious state oi the country was, such an acces-
sion of ambitious and adventurous pirates and
freebooters to their population, was not likely
to contribute to the tranquillity of the neigh-
bourhood ; and after the establishment of the
English in Ireland, the constant intercourse
between the Highlanders and Irish afforded
the English an opportunity of making alliances
with the Highland chiefs, whom they engaged
to make diversions in their favour by attacking
the Scots, as the French stirred up the Scots
against the English.

The attempts made from time to time to
civilize the country, by partial colonization
from the Lowlands, had very little effect, as

* It is probable that the poverty of the Scoto-Gael of that day
waa in their favour, and that they were in many respects superior
to the Irish, because they were altogether free from the debase-
ment of character produced by the clergy of that age, in every
country where they acquired such influence as they then had in
Ireland, " the Island of Saints."

XXX INTRODUCTION.

the colonists uniformly adopted the spirit and
habits of the natives, it being more agreeable
and easy to lay aside the restraints imposed by
an artificial state of society, than to adopt them;
but some better results attended the policy of
obliging the refractory chiefs to attend the
court, or surrender themselves to some man of
rank, under whose surveillance they were to re-
main till pardoned ; after which they were to
present themselves annually, either in Edin-
burgh or elsewhere, to renew their assurances
of " good behaviour." This produced at least a
more intimate acquaintance, and consequent
connection, between the gentry of the High-
lands and Lowlands, and made the former am-
bitious of acquiring those accomplishments,
which might justify their pretensions to a dis-
tinction and consideration, which they had no
other means of supporting, beyond the range of
their own mountains. Limited as the diffusion
of book-learning certainly was among them, one
thing is nevertheless unquestionable, that his-
tory, poetry, and music, were the favourite recre-
ations of tlieir leisure, among the lowest vulgar ;

INTRODUCTION. XXXI

and their clergy and physicians, who were all
gentlemen, read and wrote, both in their mother
tongue, and in Latin. From the Privy Council
record, at the beginning of the seventeenth cen-
tury, it appears that the gentlemen of note, al-
though they understood English, commonly
signed their names in a bold distinct Irish
Character (as it is called), which shows that
they were accustomed to writing in their own
language, and probably were, partly at least,
educated in Ireland, to which country all who
adopted either poetry or music as a profession,
were uniformly sent to finish their education,
till within the memory of persons still living.

The disturbances in the reign of Charles the
First, opened a new sera in the history of the
Highlanders ; but it is much to be regretted,
that, for a long period after, having no his-
torians of their own, their friends durst not
speak the truth of them, and their characters
have therefore been entirely at the mercy of
their bitterest enemies, who knew them only to
hate them, in proportion as they feared them.
Of all their virtues, courage was the only re-

XXXll INTRODUCTION.

spectable quality conceded to them, and this
out of compliment to the best disciplined troops
of the day, whom, with less than equal numbers,
they had so often routed; but even their cou-
rage was disparaged, being represented as mere
ferocity, arising from ignorance, and a blind and
slavish submission to their chiefs. To speak
of them otherwise, beyond the precincts of
their own glens, was so unsafe, that in 1744 and
5, all the measures adopted and recommended
by President Forbes, were neat being frus-
trated, and he himself persecuted as a Jacobite,
because he spoke and wrote of them like a
gentleman and a man of discernment, being al-
most the only man of his party that had the
liberal spirit and good sense to do so.*

* It is no small recommendation of the " Report of Marsha!
Wade," that appears from internal evidence, as well as from
other circumstances,. to have been drawn up in concert with Pre-
sident Forbes (one of the first men of his time), if not by him.
Indeed a sketch of such a report has lately been discovered among
the Culloden papers, a copy of which Colonel Stuart of Garth,
with his usual politeness and liberality, very kindly offered to
communicate to the present writer ; and it has not been made use
of, only because it does not differ materially from the revised
cop}' presented to Government.

INTRODUCTIONS XXXill

In one great and radical mistake, all our his-
torians agree. They represent the attachment
of the clans to the house of Stewart, as cherish-
ing the ferocious habit s? and retarding the 'civili-
zation of the Highlanders ; whereas the very re-
verse of this was the case. The real friends of
the house of Stewart, in England, and more par-
ticularly in Scotland* were distinguished by a
refined education, high breeding, elevated sen-
timents, a chivalrous love of fame, a noble and
disinterested devotion to a cause which they
believed ta be good, and a social, warm-hearted,
conviviality and frankness of character, totally
different from the sour, intolerant, and acri-
monious spirit of Presbyterian bigotry in the
north,* and the heartless and selfish saving
knowledge of the south —

'•*' When the very dogs at the English court
" Did bark and howl in German."t

* This is said of a century ago ; to which we are happy to
add, that among the Presbyterians of the establishment in Scot-
land, acrimonious bigotry is now about, as rare as enlightened
liberality then was.

fit is much to be regretted, that Capt. Burt was, by his situa-
tion in Scotland, precluded from all intercourse with those who
were suspected of attachment to the house of Stewart, and obliged

XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

From the state of their country, the political
bias of the Highlanders, and the eclat which
they had acquired under Montrose and Dundee,
the eyes of all Europe were turned towards
them as the only hope of the house of Stewart.
Their chiefs were courted by, and had fre-
quent personal intercourse with the friends of
that family who were of most note, both in
Scotland, England, and Ireland, and on the
continent. Studying to accomplish themselves
for the part they had to act, and always re-
ceived with the greatest distinction in the best

to depend for his information and experience, entirely upon the
opposite party. If he had dared to associate with the Cavaliers,
his opinion of the manners and spirit of the Scots, even in those
times of common suffering, restless impatience, and general ani-
mosity (political #nd religious, as well as national), would have
been very different. Of the kind of information to be derived
from whigs of that day, an excellent specimen will be found in
Graham of Gartmore's MS. quoted in the Appendix ; where, al-
though the sentiments often favour of party spirit and personal
dislike, the particular statements are very curious and variable,
and being drawn up with considerable ability, make that article
an important historical document. It will be remarked, that in
the Letters upon the Highlands, where our author depends chiefly
upon his own observation, which was shrewd and discriminating,
and upon his understanding, which was enlightened and liberal,
there is little to be objected to.

INTRODUCTION. XXXV

society, they became statesmen, warriors, and
fine gentlemen. Their sons, after passing
through the usual routine in the schools and
universities of Scotland, were sent to France
to finish their education. As the policy of the
whig governments was to crush and destroy,
not to conciliate, and they found neither coun-
tenance nor employment at home, they entered
into the French or Spanish service, and in
those countries were, from political views*
treated with a distinction suitable, not to their
pecuniary circumstances, but to their import-
ance in their own country. Great numbers of
the more promising of the youth of their clans
joined them ; and, in order that the luxurious
indulgencies of a more favoured climate might
not render them unfit or unwilling to settle in
their own country, at the end of two or three
years they returned for a time to their rela-
tions, with all their accomplishments in know-
ledge and manners, and, with their relish for
early habits still unimpaired, resumed the
quilted plaid and bonnet, and were replaced in
their regiments abroad by another set of young

XXXVI INTRODUCTION.

adventurers of the same description. Thus
among the gentry, the urbanity and knowledge
of the most polished countries in Europe were
added to a certain moral and mental civiliza-
tion, good in its kind, and peculiar to them-
selves. At home, they conversed with the
lower classes, in the most kindly and cordial
manner, on all occasions, and gratified their
laudable and active curiosity, in communicating
all they knew. This advantage of conversing
freely with their superiors, the peasantry of
no other country in Europe enjoyed, and the
consequence was, that in 1745 the Scotish
Highlanders, of all descriptions, had more of
that polish of mind and sentiment, which con-
stitutes real civilization, than in general the
inhabitants of any other country we know of,
not even excepting Iceland. This a stranger,
who, not understanding their language, could
see only the outside of things, could never be
sensible of. Book-learning, it is true, was con-
fined to the gentry, because in a country so
thinly peopled, schools would have been useless ;
they were too poor to have private instructors ;

INTRODUCTION. XXXV11

and they had good reasons for looking with no
favourable eye upon any thing that was Saxon.
But most of the gentlemen spoke Gaelic,
English, Latin,* and French, and many of
them Spanish, having access to all the in-
formation of which these languages were the
vehicles. The lower classes were, each ac-
cording to his gift of natural intellect, well
acquainted with the topography of their own
country, and with its history, particular as
well as general, for at least three cen-
turies back; they repeated and listened to,
with all the enthusiastic delight of a thorough
feeling and perfect intelligence, many thousand
lines oi poetry of the very highest kind j" (for
such they really had among them in abundance,
notwithstanding the doubts which the disho-

* Such of the foreign officers stationed in the Highlands, in
1746, as could not speak French, found themselves at no loss
among the gentlemen of the country, who conversed with them
in Latin; an accomplishment which, we fear, very few of
their grandsons can boast of.

f My very learned and excellent friend Mr. Evven M'Lauch-
lan, now engaged in preparing a Dictionary of the Gaelic Lan-
guage, a few years ago translated the first four books' of HomerV

VOL. I. d

XXXVili INTRODUCTION.

nesty of Mac Pherson and his associates has
raised on that subject) ; and their music (which,
as it speaks the language of nature, not of
nations, is more intelligible to a stranger) is
allowed, when performed con amore, to be the
production of a people among whom the better
sympathies of our nature must have been cul-
tivated to a great extent. These facts indicate
a rery high degree of intellectual refinement,
entirely independent of the fashion of their
lower garments,* from the sight of which, and

Iliad into Gaelic verse. This translation he read, in the neigh-
bourhood of Fort-William, to groups of men and women of the
very lowest class, shepherds and mechanics, who had never
learnt the power of letters. They listened to him with such
enthusiasm as showed that the beauties of the composition had
their full effect, and made such remarks as would have put to
shame the comments of better instructed critics. We should
like to see an Englishman make a similar experiment upon a
party of clowns, or even of comfortable citizens, of his own
country. — Book-learning is sometimes over-rated. A High-
lander now learns from books — to despise the lore of his fathers,
whose minds were much more cultivated than his own; and
this is almost all that he does learn.

* Delicacy, like civilization, is a relative, and not an abso-
lute term. A gentleman who, in the days of Henry the
Seventh of England, had appeared in tight breeches or panta-
loons, without a brayette, would have been punished for an in"

INTRODUCTION.

the sound of a language which they did not
understand, their neighbours were fully satisfied
of their barbarity, and inquired no further.

In justification of this account of their cha-
racter in 1745, in addition to the information
procured in the country, as well as in the Low-
lands and in England, we can with confidence
appeal to the letters of their chiefs, and to the
public documents and periodical publications
of the time, although these last were written
by their bitterest enemies, with a view to in-
fluence the public against them. From all the
information we have been able to collect, it
appears that in their whole progress to and
from Derby, their conduct, all circumstances
considered, was not only orderly and proper,
but, in innumerable instances, in the highest
degree humane and magnanimous.* In England,

decent exposure of Ats person. A Russian boor wears his
shirt over his pantaloons, and considers our fashion as impu-
dently indelicate.— Who is right?

* Inconvenience from the presence of so many strange guests
was unavoidable. They wanted horses and arms, which they
received from their friends, and took from their unfriends,
but with the assurance of indemnification as soon as King Jaoree

Xl INTRODUCTION.

the courtly elegance, in manners and conver-
sation, of the Highland gentlemen, their dig-
nified deportment, the discipline they preserved
among their men, but, above all, the kind-
hearted, sensible, and considerate good-nature
and indulgence which they everywhere mani-
fested towards women and children (a strong

was established on the throne. The common men, also, when
not under the eye of their officers, sometimes took shoes which
they did not always pay for ; but he that looked at their feet,
and felt their purses, would have been more disposed to pity the
necessity than complain of the outrage. If outrages did take
place, it was not from the clansmen, who were too jealous of
the honour of their name, to do any thing that was discounte-
nanced by their superiors. But in all cases of civil war, there
are found in every country great numbers of loose and disorderly
persons, who are always ready to take shelter under the standard
of insurrection, from the vengeance of the laws which their
crimes have provoked. Many such, chiefly from the Lowlands,
accompanied the army of Charles, under circumstances that
rendered the keeping up good discipline, with respect to them,
absolutely impossible. There were still greater numbers of
these outlaws and broken-men out in 1715, who, after the failure
of the earl of Mar, found sympathy and shelter among the
Jacobite clans ; and it was of such vagabonds that the rabble
was composed who, in 1719, joined the 300 Spaniards, and
were concerned in the skirmish at Glenshiel, of which the
government made a handle for exercising all manner of tyranny
and oppression upon these who had no concern in it.

INTRODUCTION. x

feature in the Highland character, and the best
proof true civilization), which was so different
from what the English had been led to expect,
made so favourable an impression, and formed
such a contrast to the insolent brutality of the
king's troops, officers and men, who marched
down after them, that in many instances, which
we know from the parties concerned, the
women (for the men durst not speak out) could
not help telling the latter, " when the rebels,
as they are called, were here, they behaved
very differently — they behaved like gentlemen —
quite like gentlemen — God help them !" Such
reproaches, so justly provoked, and so often
repeated, produced only aggravation of insult
and abuse, and (such was the spirit of the time)
ladies of the greatest respectability were, by
officers of rank, damned for Jacobite b*****s,
and told that they were all rebels together, if
they durst avow it, and deserved to have their
houses burnt over their heads !*

* One young widow lady in Cheshire, from whose daughter
we had the anecdote, told a party of officers on such an occasion,
" If I am not a Jacobite, it certainly is not your fault ; — ye

2tU INTRODUCTION.

With the exception of Mrs. Grant's admirable
Essays, and those of the Rev. Dr. Graham of
Aberfoyl, almost all the accounts of the High-
landers have been written either by enemies,
with all the virulence of party spirit, or by
strangers, from partial information ; and, con-
sequently, hardly any thing has been said of
them but to their disadvantage. Hence the
vague and idle declamations about deadly feuds
between clan and clan, bloody conflicts, desperate
encounters, depredations, robberies, murders, as"
sassinations, " and all manner of licentiousness"
In answer to all which, we shall only observe,
that every clan was a little community by itself,
under circumstances by no means favourable to
quiet life among a poor, free, bold, and hardy
race of men; and ask the dispassionate reader,
what all the great and polished nations of the earth
were doing, while the mountaineers of Scotland

have done all ye could to make me one !" An observation,
the truth of which would have been sensibly felt by the king's
troops, had the. Highland army been in a condition once more to
enter England, and avail themselves of the favour which their
own good conduct and the insolence of their enemies had pro-
cured them in that country.

INTRODUCTION.

were thus murdering one another? Amid the
proud triumphs of that civilization under which
we are now supposed to live, it is mortifying to
reflect, that in the course of twenty years,
during the last war, there was twice as much
Highland blood spilt [upwards of 13,000 have
been enlisted into one single regiment !] as was
shed by Highlanders on their own account, in any
way whatsoever, during the three centuries
that preceded the abolition of the feudal system
among them in 1748 !*

* This is a melancholy truth, not a political reflection. We
are sensible that the war in which they were engaged could not
have been avoided, without giving up all that ought to be dear
to a brave and free people ; and that the unshaken firmness with
which it was prosecuted, under the most discouraging circum-
stances, has been the means of saving Europe from the last state
of political and moral degradation, in which the voice of nature,
truth, and honour, would have been utterly stifled, and no ex-
ample of freedom left for the regeneration of mankind. At the
breaking out of the French revolution, France was called the
most civilized country in the world, and this insulting jargon still
continues in the mouths of a party ; but surely Rob Roy and
the Clangregor, at a time when their neighbours hunted them
down with blood-hounds, were humane and gallant fellows, when
compared with Buonaparte, Massena, Suchet, Davou«t, and
Vandamme !

xliv INTRODUCTION*

That they lifted cuttle is true, — and this was so
common, that the poor beasts, like their fellow-
denizens of the wilderness, the deer and roe,
seldom knew to what glen they belonged ; — but
these things were managed in a way peculiar to
themselves, and so seldom occasioned blood-
shed, that with all their herships, riefs, hot-trods,
and rescues, we may venture to affirm, that, ten
Yorkshiremen lost their lives for horse-stealing,
for one Highlander that died in a case of cattle-
lifting.

Private robbery, murder, and petty theft were
hardly known among them. It has been said
that " there was nothing to steal;" but there
was comparative wealth and poverty in their
country, as well as elsewhere ; and the poorer
the people were, the stronger was the tempta-
tion, and the stronger must the principle have
been that enabled them to resist it. And here,
for the sake of illustration, it may not be out of
place to say somewhat of the heavy accusations
brought against the Clangregor, particularly in
Graham of Gartmore's MS. quoted in the
Appendix. As there is no end to the clamours

INTRODUCTION, xU~

which have been echoed from one generation to
another, against this disorderly tribe, we shall
state a few simple facts, to show the nature of
their irregularities. They had long been de-
prived of their lands, their name, their political
existence, and the protection of the laws, and
left to provide for, and protect themselves as
best they might. Their lands had been appro-
priated by their more powerful and politic
neighbours, particularly the predecessors of the
duke of Montrose. This, and that nobleman's
new-fangled whig politics,* had exposed him
particularly to their indignation, which he
shared with Graham of Gartmore, and other
gentlemen of the clan, who, having adopted the
same principles, were regarded as recreant
Grahams. When they lifted the duke's cattle,
took his rents from his steward, or emptied his
girnel of the farm-meal after it had been paid
in, they considered themselves as only taking
what ought to have been their own. The manner
in which this was commonly done, shows how

* See the character of the first whig marquis of Montrose, in
Lockhart of Carnwath's Memoirs of Scotland, published in 1714.

Xlvi INTRODUCTION.

unjustly they were accused of general cruelty
and oppression to their neighbours. On one oc-
casion, Rob Roy, with only one attendant, went
to the house in which the duke's tenants had
been convened to pay their rents; took the
money from the steward in their presence ; gave
them certificates that all had been duly paid
before he seized it, which exonerated them from
all further claim ; treated them liberally with
whiskey ; made them swear upon his dirk, that
not one of them would stir out of the house,
till three hours after he was gone ; took a good-
humoured leave of them; and deliberately re-
turned to the Braes. Those who know the
spirit of the Grahams of that day, will be sa-
tisfied that this could never have taken place
had the tenants not been very well pleased to
see their money come into Rob's hands. When
called out by the duke to hunt down Rob and
his followers, they always contrived to give
him timely warning, or to mislead the scent, so
that the expedition came to nothing. When
the duke once armed them for defence, they
sent notice to Rob's nephew, Glengyle, to come

INTRODUCTION.

round with such a force as would be a decent
excuse for their submission, and collect the
arms, which they considered as a disagree-
able and dangerous deposit; and when the
M'Gregors took the field in 1715, the cava-
lier spirit of the Grahams rose, and many of
the duke's dependants, scorning their superior
and his politics, followed their standard. This
showed that they did not consider the Braes of
Balquhidder as a bad neighbourhood.

In all the thinly-peopled districts by which
the M'Gregors were surrounded, the whole
property of the tenants was constantly at the
mercy of thieves, if there had been such in the
country. The doors of their houses were
closed by a latch, or wooden bolt ; and a man
with a clasp-knife might in a few minutes have
cut open the door, or even the wicker walls of
the house. Detached from the dwelling-house,
from fear of fire, was a small wicker barn, or
store-house, still less carefully secured, in
which they kept their whole stock of hams,
butter, cheese (for they then had such things),
corn, meal, blankets, webs, yarn, wool, &c.

INTRODUCTION.

These houses and barns were often left unpro-
tected for days together, when the people were
abroad cutting and winning turf, making hay or
reaping for their superior, or tending their
cattle in distant pastures. This was the case all
over the Highlands ; yet nothing was ever
stolen or disturbed! — Of what civilized country,
in the best of times, can as much be said ?

A spirit of revenge has too often been attrir
buted to them, as a distinguishing feature of
character; and the ancient prejudice on this
subject remains, long after the habits in which
it originated have disappeared,* In a certain

* Campbell of Glenlyon lived to a good old age, and died a
natural death, in the midst of the relations and friends of the
M'Donalds of Glenco, in whose massacre he had acted such an
infamous part. In 1745, when the Highland army was en-
camped in the neighbourhood of the house of the earl of Stair,
whose father had been the chief author and order er of that mas-
sacre, and who himself commanded a regiment in the king's ser-
vice, Prince Charles, apprehensive of some outrage from the
Glenco-men, sent a guard to protect the earl's house ; on which
the M'DoRalds immediately quitted the camp; and although at
that time utter ruin must have been the certain consequence of
a separation from the army, they were with great difficulty pre-
vailed upon to return, so strong was their virtuous indignation
at being thought capable of a cowardly revenge, and visiting the
iniquities of the father upon the children .'

INTRODUCTION".

state of society, in all countries, revenge has
been not only accounted manly and honourable,
but has been bequeathed as a sacred trust,
from father to son, through ages, to be wreaked
as an indispensible duty of piety. This was
particularly the case among the Scandinavians,
from whom many of the Highlanders are de-
scended ; and as they remained longer than
their neighbours in a state in which they had
no laws to appeal to, there can be no doubt
that many things were done in the way of
retaliation, which would now be considered as
lawless and violent ; but, as the sum of in-
fliction from wilful resentment among them
bore no proportion to the sum of infliction from
outraged laws in other countries, the balance
in favour of humanity and forbearance, even in
the most turbulent times we are acquainted
with, will be found to be considerably in their
favour. A man killed at his own fire-side by
him whom he had injured, was talked of for
ages, while five hundred such persons hanged
at Tyburn were forgotten as soon as cut down !*

* If a robbery, murder, or assassination did take place, they
showed their horror of the deed by raising a cairn of memorial

1 INTRODUCTION.

Men of strong and lively feelings are gene-
rally earnest in their likings and dislikings; but
notwithstanding the constant provocations they
have been receiving, during the last thirty
years, from their landlords, land-stewards, (ge-
nerally English or Lowland attornies!} Lowland
tacksmen, farm-appraisers, and farm-jobbers,
who live among them, or occasionally visit them,
like the pestilence, with oppression, insult, and
misery in their train,

" Destruction before than), and- sorrow behind ;"

in the midst of these grievous and daily wrongs,
wilful fire-raising, houghing of cattle, and as-

on the spot, to point a salutary moral to all succeeding generations.
The deep and lasting impression made by such occurrences showed
how rare they were ; but when the delinquencies of many cen-
turies were (for want of other news) related to a stranger, in the
course of a single evening, with as much minuteness of detail as
if they had occurred but yesterday, neither his own feelings, nor
his report to others, were likely to be favourable to a people
among whom he had heard of so many enormities. But who
would look for the character of the English nation in the New-
gate Calendar ? Captain Burt saw a murderer hanged at Inver-
ness : the hangman was eighty years old, and had not yet learned
his trade, from want of practice! In the populous county of
Murray, in which the present writer was born, there have been
only two executions in his time, being a space of forty-six
yeai>.

INTRODUCTION. 11

sassination, so common among their neighbours,
are unheard of among them !

On the subject of drunkenness, of which they
have been so often accused, we refer the reader
with confidence to Mrs. Grant's Essays, which are
written in the true spirit of candour and of truth,
and from an intimate and thorough knowledge
of her subject. Donald is a lively, warm-
hearted, companionable fellow; likes whiskey
when he wants it, as others learn to do who
visit his country ; and is no enemy to a hearty
jollification upon occasion ; but we never knew
in the Highlands an habitual drunkard, who had
learnt that vice in his own country, if we except
such, about Fort- William and Fort-Augustus,
as had been corrupted by the foreign soldiers re-
sident among them.- This was the case about

thirty years ago, but a melancholy change has
since taken place. At that time, the privilege
of distilling at Farrintosh had not been with-
drawn from the Culloden family, and good
whiskey was so cheap (about tenpence an Eng-
lish quart), that there was no temptation to
illicit distillation. At present, the poor di,s-

Ill INTRODUCTION.

tressed and degraded peasants (who would still
do well if they could, and cling to their native
glens, the land of their fathers, to the last) are
compelled, by hard necessity, to have recourse
to smuggling, in order to raise money to gratify
the insane avarice of their misguided and de-
generate landlords, who, with a view to imme-
diate gain, connive at their proceedings, with-
out considering that their own ruin must be
the consequence of the demoralization of their
tenants. Illicit stills are to be found every-
where ; encouraging drunkenness, is encourag-
ing trade ; and the result is such as might be
expected. But that the Highlander, when he
has fair means of showing himself, is still averse
to such profligacy, is proved by the conduct of
the Highland regiments,* which, amid the con-
tagion of bad examples, and all the licences
peculiar to camps and a military life, have

* Of these regiments, from their first establishment, it is to be
hoped that a very complete account will soon appear, which will
throw much light on the past, as well as present state and cha-
racter of the Highlanders ; as Colonel Stewart of Garth has for
several years been collecting materials for that purpose. The
present writer is much indebted to that gentleman's comnmnica*

INTRODUCTION. lili

always been distinguished above all others
wherever they have been stationed, for their
sobriety, honesty, and kindly good nature and
good humour.

It is almost peculiar to this people, that the
greatest beauties in their character have com-
monly been considered as blemishes. Among
these, the most prominent are family pride> the
love of kindred, even to the exclusion of justice,
and attachment to a country which seems to have
so few charms to the inhabitants of more favoured
regions. A family consisting of four or five
thousand souls, all known to, connected with,
and depending upon, each Other, is certainly
something that a man may be justified in con-
sidering as of some importance ; and if a High-
lander could neither be induced by threats
nor promises to appear in a criminal court
against a kinsman, or give him up to the

tive frankness, liberality, and politeness ; anct with confidence ap-
peals to his extensive collection of unquestionable facts, for the
confirmation of such theories and statements, however novel they
may sometimes appear, as are found in the Introduction and
Notes to this work.

VOL. i. e

llV INTRODUCTION.

vengeance of the law,* as is so common else-
where, we may admire and pity, but can hardly
in our hearts blame him. — Who that has done
such things ever did any good afterwards ?t

The Highlander loves his country, because he
loves heartily well every thing that has ever
been interesting to him, and this his own coun-
try was before he knew any other. Wherever
he goes, he finds the external face of nature,
or the institutions, language, and manners of
the people, so different from what was dear to
him in his youth, that he is everywhere else a
stranger, and naturally sighs for home, with all
its disadvantages, which, however formidable
they may appear to others, are with him con-
nected with such habits and recollections, that
he would not remove them, if a wish could do

'

* The Lowland laws were always held in abhorrence by the
Highlanders, whom their vengeance often reached, but their pro-
tection never.

t Let those applaud the stoical sternness of Roman justice and
Roman virtue, who admire it ; to us, it has, in general, appeared
a cold-blooded parade of theatrical ostentation, with which nature
and truth had no connection.

INTRODUCTION. lv

Some of the usages mentioned in the follow-
ing work, may give rise to misapprehension.
To strangers, the children of the gentry ap-
peared to be totally neglected, till they were
of an age to go to school; and this, in some
measure, continued even to our own times ;
but it ivas the wisdom and affection of their parents
that put them in such situations. Aware of the
sacredness of their trust, those with whom they
were placed never lost sight of their future
destiny ; and as they were better acquainted
with the condition of their superiors than per-
sons of the same rank in life had means of
being1 in other countries, no habits of meanness
or vulgarity were contracted from Such an
education. Delicacy, with respect to food,
clothing, and accommodation, would have been
the greatest curse that could be entailed upon
them : from early association, they learnt to feel
an interest in all that concerned those among
whom they had spent those years to which all
look back with fond regret ; and this intimate
practical acquaintance with the condition, habits,
and feelings of their dependants, produced aftef-

wards a bond of union and endearment in the
highest degree beneficial to all parties ; at the
same time that they could, with less inconve-
nience, encounter such difficulties and priva-
tions as the future vicissitudes of life might
expose them to.

The ostentatiouaness of the public, and beggar,
tiness of the private economy of their chiefs, has
been ridiculed. — If they stinted themselves, in
order to entertain their guests the better, they
surely deserved a more grateful return. They
lived in a poor country, where good fare could
not be found for every day; and after half a
dozen servants had waited at table, while the
chief and his family were making a private meal
of hasty-pudding and milk, crowdy (gradden-
meal and whipt cream), curds and cream, bread
and cheese, fish, or what they might chance to
have, those servants retired to the kitchen,
cheerful and contented to their homely dinner,
without any of those heart-burnings produced
by the sight of luxuries in which they could
have no share. Their fare might be hard, but

their superiors were contented with it, and so

*

INTRODUCTION.

were they. Such self-denial fa the chiefs
reconciled their dependants to disadvantages
which they had no means of surmounting, and
was equally humane and considerate.

Their submission to their chiefs has been called
slavish ; and too many of the chiefs of the pre-
sent day are willing enough to have this be-
lieved, because they wish to impute their own
want of influence to any cause rather than the
true one ; but the lowest clansman felt his own
individual importance as well as his chief,
whom he considered as such only " ad vitam
aut ad culpam ;" and although there was cer-
tainly a strong feeling in favour of the lineal
descendant of the stem-father of their race,
which prevented them from being rash, harsh,
or unjust to him, there was also a strong feeling
of honour and independence, which prevented
them from being unjust to themselves.* When
a chief proved unworthy of his rank, he was

* We believe the Highlands of Scotland to be the only country
in Europe where the very name of slavery was unknown, and
where the lowest retainer of a feudal baron enjoyed, in his place,
the importance of a member of the community to which he be-

Iviii INTRODUCTION.

degraded from it, and (to avoid jealousy
strife) the next in order was constituted in his
room — but never a low-born man or a stranger ;
as it was a salutary rule among them, as in
other military establishments, not to put one
officer over the head of another. But it was
not with a Highland chief as with other rulers ;
" when he fell, he fell like Lucifer, never to
rise again ;" his degradation was complete,
because he owed it to a common feeling of re-
probation, not to the caprice, malice, or ambi-
tion of a faction ; for every one was thoroughly
acquainted with the merits of the cause, and
while there was any thing to be said in his
favour, his people had too much respect for
themselves to show public disrespect to him.
The same dignified feeling prevented their re-
sentment from being bloody ; he was still their
kinsman, however unworthy ; and having none

longed. The Gaelic language has no word synonimous to slave,
for traill is Norse (trael, in English, thrall) ; and the thralls
whom the Norwegians brought with them soon had their chains
decomposed by the free air of our mountains.

INTRODUCTIOTsr. Hx

among them to take his part, was no longer
dangerous.*

Their affectation of gentry (if such a term may
be allowed) has been treated with endless ri-
dicule, because it did not (much to the credit
of their liberality) include the idea of wealth ;
but we believe few gentlemen in the Highlands,
however poor, would have been flattered by
being classed, as to civilization, with the gentle-
man, our author's friend, who attempted to ride
into the rainbow.

The humane, indulgent, and delicate atten-
tion of people of fortune in the Highlands to
their poor relations was one of the finest fea-
tures in their character, and might furnish' ft'-
very edifying example to the inhabitants of
more favoured regions ; and, to an honourable
mind, there are surely considerations of higher
importance than fine clothes and good eating.
It has been imputed to their pride and stupidity,

* In one instance, it is true, a deposed chief was killed in
battle by his clan, but it was in an attempt to force himself upon
them by the assistance of a neighbouring tribe to which he was
allied by marriage.

lx INTRODUCTION.

that they did not flee from the poverty of their
own country, and try their fortunes, as labour-
ers and mechanics, among strangers, where
they might, in time, have obtained better food
and accommodation ; but to give up their rank
in society, with all the endearing offices and
sympathies of friendship and affection to which
they had been accustomed at home, and which
were so soothing and so flattering to their
feelings, and to go where they were sure to
be degraded beneath the lowest of the low,
and continually exposed to contempt, ridicule,
and insult, for their ignorance of the arts and
habitudes of those among whom they lived ; — in
short, to sell their birth-right for a mess of pottage,
- — would have argued a beggarliness of soul and
spirit, which, happily, their worst enemies do
not accuse them of.

The foregoing remarks, which seemed ne-
cessary for illustrating the characters of a very
singular and interesting people, have already
extended this preface to a much greater length
than was at first intended, which will be the
Jess regretted, if the honest wish by which

INTRODUCTION. Ixi

these details were prompted has been in any
degree fulfilled. Of undue partiality, it is
hoped the writer will not be rashly accused,
for he is not a Highlander ; and, having gone to
the mountains, at the age of fifteen, from the
Laigh of Murray (" whence every man had a
right to drive a prey ;" and where, of course,
the character of their neighbours was not very
popular), he carried among them prejudices
which nothing but the conviction arising from
observation and experience could have re-
moved. Of what he then heard, saw, and felt,
he has since had sufficient leisure to form a coal
and dispassionate estimate, during a residence
of many years in various parts of England,
Wales, the north of Europe, and the Lowlands
of Scotland. As he had no Celtic enthusiasm
to struggle with, and his deductions have all
been made from facts, it is hoped they may be
received by strangers with suitable confidence.
To what good purpose he has availed himself
,of the advantages he enjoyed, in fitting himself
for his present task, every reader will judge for

Ixii INTRODUCTION.

himself; but when he makes it known that it
was first recommended to him by Mr. Scott
(to whom both he and this publication, as well
as the world in general, are so much indebted),
his vanity will readily be pardoned, as, even if
it should be found that that gentleman's kind-
ness for the man has over-stepped his discretion
as to the writer, the general conclusion will not
be dishonourable to either party.

As a close affinity in manners, habits, and
character, between the ancient as well as pre-
sent mountaineers of Norway and Scotland has
frequently been alluded to, these prolusions may
be closed, not unaptly, with a fragment of High-
land biography, which may be regarded as a
great curiosity, particularly by such as are ac-
quainted with the Icelandic and Norse Sagas,
which it so strongly resembles. Of Hammer
Donald, we shall only observe, that although the
circumstances of his early life made him (like
Viga Glum, and other celebrated kemps and
homicides of the North) a very unmanageable
and dangerous neighbour, there were then va-

INTRODUCTION.

rieties of character in the Highlands as well as
elsewhere. Donald's clan had been but lately
introduced into the country ; his father, although
a brave man, was denominated "the Peaceful;"
and his son narrowly escaped being murdered
in the very act of teaching his servants how to
cultivate the ground.

THE

HISTORY

DONALD THE HAMMERER.

From an authentic Account of the Family of Invernahyle. [MS, communi-
cated by WALTER SCOTT, Esq.]

ALEXANDER, the first Invernahyle, commonly
called Saoileach, or " the Peaceful," was son of
Allan Stewart, third laird of Appin. He mar-
ried Margaret M'Donald, daughter of Donald
M'Dqnald of Moidart, commonly called Donald
fin Lochan, or Donald of the Lakes ; but a deadly
feud arose between Invernahyle and the family
of Dunstaffnage, which, in the first instance,
caused the overthrow of both.

Alexander walked out early in a summer
morning from Island Stalker, and stepped over
to Isle-nan-gall, where he laid himself down on
the grass, with his Lochaber axe beside him, a
weapon, at that period, more used in the High-
lands than the broad-sword. Whilst he there

INTRODUCTION. lXV

reposed, apprehensive of no danger, the cele-
brated Cailen Uaine, or Green Colin, arrived at
the island in his barge, with a number of men,
whom he had brought from DunstafFnage to
assist him in destroying his brother's enemy.
Upon being observed by Alexander, he ad-
vanced in the most friendly manner, and was
about to salute him, when, seeing the axe lying
on the ground, he grasped it, and said, " This is
a good axe, Alexander, if there were peace
enough in it." To which Alexander quickly re-
plied, "Do you think there is not that in it ?"
and laid hold of the axe likewise, being fully
sensible of the spirit of Colin's remark. During
the struggle, Colin's men surrounded Alexan-
der, and basely murdered him. They then
proceeded to Island Stalker, and after killing
every one of Alexander's friends that they
could find, took possession of Invernahyle and
all his other property.

Not one person escaped the fury of Green
Colin and his men, except the nurse, who hap-
pened to be out walking in the fields with Alex-
ander's only child in her arms, who had been

INTRODUCTION.

named Donald, from his mother's father. The
nurse was the blacksmith's wife of Moidart,
and being an old acquaintance of Alexander's
Wife, was brought by her into Appin. Upon
hearing what had happened to the family in
which she was engaged, and that diligent search
was made for her by Green Colin and his gang,
in order to put the child to death, she fled home
to her own country ; and, upon discovering to
her husband what had happened to the family
of Invernahyle, they agreed to bring up the
child as one of their own. [It is said, the icoman>
being pursued in her flight, and knowing the in-
fant's life VMS aimed at, hid it in a cave, having
frst tied a piece of lard round it's neck. The nurse
was made prisoner, and detained for several days.
On her release, she went to the cave, expecting only
to find the reliques of her charge ; but the infant
was alive and -well, the lard being reduced to the
size of a hazel-nut. — W. S.J

When young Donald had acquired some
strength, he was called to assist his supposed
father in carrying on his trade ; and so uncom-
mon was his strength, that when only eighteen-

INTRODUCTION.

years of age, he could wield a large fore-ham-
mer in each hand, for the length of the longest
day, without the least seeming difficulty or
fatigue.

At last the blacksmith and his wife resolved
to discover to Donald the secret they had so
Jong kept, not only from him, but from the
world. After relating the mournful tale of his
parents' death, the smith brought a sword of
his own making, and put it into Donald's hand,
saying, " 1 trust the blood that runs in your
veins, and the spirit of your fathers, will guide
your actions ; and that this sword will be the
means of clearing the difficulties that lie in the
way of your recovering your paternal estate."
Donald heard with surprise the story of his birth
and early misfortune ; but vowed never to put
the sword into a scabbard until he had swept
the murderers of his parents from the earth.*
His mother's father, who still lived in Moidart,
upon being satisfied that Donald was his grand-
son, and seeing his determination of recovering

* The blacksmith also presented Donald with his sons, to aid
him in recovering his natural rights. W. S.

1NTRODOCT1ON.

his father's property, gave him a few men, with
whom he proceeded to Appin.

Upon arriving at Island Stalker, Donald de-
clared himself the son of the late Invernahyle,
and sent Green Colin a challenge to fight him
singly ; but, instead of complying with the chal-
lenge, Colin gathered all his retainers, and ad-
vanced with them in the order of battle ; but
Donald and his men commenced the attack,
and, after a desperate engagement, succeeded
in killing not only Green Colin, but nearly the
whole of his men, by which Invernahyle became
his property without any further trouble.

Donald's history being now made public, he
got the appellation of Donul nan Ord, or " Do-
nald the Hammerer," by which he was ever after
known. Resolving to revenge the wrongs his
father had suffered from the family of Dunstaff-
nage, Donald mustered all his fighting-men, and
attacked the Campbells wherever he could
find any of that name. Argyle came at last to
be interested in the distress that Donald was
bringing on his clan, and employed several par-
ties to cut him off, but in vain. Donald, seeing

INTRODUCTION.

Argyle's intention, instead of being intimidated,
penetrated, with his trusty band, into the heart
of Argyle's country, spoiled his tenants, and
carried away a considerable booty from the side
of Lochow, which at that time gave a title to
the chief of the clan. There is handed down a
little roundlet which narrates this transaction :

Donul nan Ord, dallta Ghobhain,

' v ••> •
Ailleagan nan Luireach leathaf,

Thog a Creach 'o thaobh Loch A ; t. e.
" Donald the Hammerer, the smith's foster-son, the ornament
of the leathern apron, lifted a prey from the side of Lochow."

Argyle, much enraged at this transaction, be-
gan to think seriously of revenge, by raising his
whole clan, and following to destroy him ; but
wisely seeing that this could not be done without
much noise in the country, and aware that Donald
might be supported by the Camerons, and other
powerful clans with whom Argyle was at war,
set on foot a negociation with the laird of Appin,
to try and get Donald to make restitution, and
to be peaceful. The result was, that Appin
and his other friends insisted with Donald,
that unless he came to terms with Argyle,

VOL. i. /

1XX INTRODUCTION.

they would leave him to his own fate. Donald,
unwilling to split with his friends, and thinking
that he had just done enough to revenge the
death of his parents, actually went to Inverary,
with a single attendant, to hold a conference
with Argyle at his own place. Argyle had too
much honour to take advantage of this bold step
of Donald ; but conceived, from his rusticity,
that he might soon get him into a scrape that
might prove fatal to him. Upon arriving at
Inverary, Donald met Argyle in the fields, and
is said to have accosted him thus : —

A mic Cailen ghriomaich ghlais.
Is beg an had id a thaead dhiom ;
"S nan a philleach mi air mi ais,
Ma's a ma th'again dhiot,* i. e,

" Son of sallow, sulky Colin,

Small's the grace will go from me ;
And if I get but back again,

'Tis all the boon I want from thee."

In the course of some indifferent conver-
sation, Donald frequently indulged in a loud

* This is given in the orthography in which we found it, as
are all the other scraps of Gaelic.

INTRODUCTION.

liorse-laugh (a habit which some of his de-
scendants are noted for as far down as the
eighth generation); to rally Donald a little on
this, Argyle desired him to look at a rock on a
hill above Ardkinglas, then in their view,
which resembles a man's face reclined back-
wards, with the mouth widely expanded, and
asked him if he knew the name of that rock?
Donald answered in the negative. Argyle
then told him, it was Gaire Grannda (ugly
laugh.) Donald perceiving the allusion, and,
with his other qualifications, being a good poet,
replied off hand —

Gaire Grannda s' ainm do'n chreig ;
"S fanaudh i mirr sin do ghna;
Gheibhead tu lethid agad fein,
Na n sealladh tu 'n euden do mhna ; i. e.

" Ugly Laugh is the name of the rock ;

An ugly mocker 'twill ever be ;
But if you will look on your own wife's face,

As ugly a sight you at home may see."

When at length they came to talk of business,
the terms upon which Argyle offered peace
were, that Donald should raise a hership (plun-

INTRODUCTION.

dering) in Moid art, and another in Athol,
thinking probably that Donald would be cut
off in some of these attempts, or, if successful
against such powerful people, his own disgrace
would be less in what was done to his own
lands. Donald readily agreed to the terms,
and set out instantly for Moidart to inform his
uncle of the engagement he had come under,
and asked his advice. His uncle told him, the
people of certain farms had offended him much ;
and if Donald would attack them, he, to save
the appearance of being in the plot, would assist
them in striving to recover the spoil, but would
not be in such haste that Donald would run
any risk of being overtaken. Donald soon ga-
thered his men, and set fire to nearly all the
farm-houses in Moidart, and got clear off with
the spoil. This affair made great noise in the
country. He went next to Athol, and carried
desolation through that country with equal suc-
cess ; which intimidated Argyle so much, that
he made peace with Donald on the terms pro-
posed by the latter.

Not content with plundering the Highlands

INTRODUCTION.

from one end to the other, Donald often de-
scended into the Low-country. One time, as
returning from Stirlingshire, on passing through
Monteith, his party called at a house where a
wedding dinner was preparing for a party, at
which the earl of Monteith was to be present :
but, not caring for this, they stepped in and ate
up the whole that was intended for the wedding
party. Upon the earl's arriving with the mar-
riage people, he was so enraged at the affront
put upon his clan, that he instantly pursued
Donald, and soon came up with him. One of
the earl's men called out ironically,

Stewartich chui nan t A pan,
A cheiradhich glass air a chal.

One of Donald's men, with great coolness,
drawing an arrow out of his quiver, replied,

Ma tha 'n tApan againn mar dhucha,
'S du dhuinn gun tarruin sin farsid ; i. e.
" If Appinis our country, we would draw thee [thy neck],
wert thou there ;"

and with this took his aim at the Monteith man,
and shot him through the heart. A bloody en-
gagement then ensued, in which the earl and

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

nearly the whole of his followers were killed,
and Donald the Hammerer escape4 with only a
single attendant, through the night coming on.*

Donald married a daughter of John Stewart
Ban Rannoch, alias, Jan Mac Roibeart, by
whom he had four sons, first, Jan More, who
died at Taymouth when young ; second, Dun-
can, who succeeded him ; third, Allan, of whom
the present Ballechelish; fourth, James nan
Gleann, who had the lands of Lettershuna.
Donald the Hammerer had only one daughter,
who was married to Archibald Campbell, called
Gillisbuegdie, of whom the present Achalladair.

During Donald's life-time, the feud that sub-
sisted between him and the family of Dunstaff-
nage did not entirely subside ; but it was pru-
dently concluded, in order to put a final end to
to it, that Duncan should pay his addresses to

* This skirmish took place betwixt Loch Katrine and the
Loch of Monteith. (See Dr. Graham, on the scenery of these
districts.) As the quarrel began on account of the poultry de-
voured by the Highlanders, which they plundered from the earl's
offices, situated on the side of the port of Monteith, to accommo-
date his castle in the adjacent island, the name of Gramoch an
gerig, or Grames of the hens, was fixed on the family of the
Grames of Mouteith. W. S.

INTRODUCTIONT. 1XXV

Helena, a daughter of Dunstaffnage, which he
did with success. This was carried on unknown
to Donald ; and when the marriage took place,
he was in very bad blood with his son; and
Duncan, not having any thing to support him-
self and his young wife, went to live with the
smith's wife of Moidart, who had nursed his
father, upon the farm of Inverfalla, which her
husband had received from Domd nan Onl as a
grateful recompence for his former kindness ;
but, the smith being dead, the old woman now
lived by herself.

Being more inclined to live by cultivating the
arts of peace than by plundering his neigh-
bours, Duncan spent much of his time in im-
proving the farm of Inverfalla, which his father
considering as far below the dignity of a High-
land gentleman, could not brook to see.

Once, as Donald was walking upon the green
of Invernahyle, he looked across the river, and
saw several men working upon the farm of
Inverfalla. In the meantime Duncan came out,
and took a spade from one of the men, seem-
ingly to let him see how he should perform the

IXXVi INTRODUCTION*.

work in which he was employed. This was too
much for the old gentleman to bear. He
launched the currach (a wicker boat covered
with hides) with his own hand, and rowed it
across to Inverfalla. As he approached, Dun-
can, being struck with the fury of his counte-
nance, fled from the impending storm into the
house ; but the old man followed him with a
naked sword in his hand. Upon entering a
room that was somewhat dark, Donald, think-
ing his degenerate son had concealed himself
under the bed-clothes, made a deadly stab at
his supposed son ; but, instead of killing him,
the sword went through the heart of his old
nurse, who was then near eighty years of age.
After this unfortunate accident Donald be-
came very religious ; he resigned all his lands
to his sons, and went to live at Columkill, where
he at last died at the age of eighty-seven.

'

LETTERS,

LETTER I*

Inverness.

Ix the course of evidence, or other examin-
ation, one slight accidental hint maybe the cause
of a long and intricate inquiry ; and thus the bare
mention I lately made of a few notes I had taken,
relating to these parts and to the Highlands, will

* The English are certainly the first people in the world, and
their good qualities are too well known to require any eulo-
giura here; but if it were asked, by what one general charac-
teristic, more than another, they are to be distinguished, per-
haps the answer ought to be, that they do not like to lie put out
of their way. This peculiarity, in their own country, produces a
good deal of habitual grumbling, in which there is no great harm,
as it gives rise to an attention to convenience, propriety, and
comfort, which is nowhere else to be met with. But an Eng-
lishman, to be seen to advantage, must be seen at home ; when
IIP goes abroad, he assumes a compliance with liis habits a<* an
VOL. T. B

- LETTER I.

be the occasion of some employment for me: but
I am far from making a merit of any trouble I
can take to gratify your curiosity ; and more
especially in this; for to tell you the truth, I
have at present little else to do; my only fear
is, my endeavour will not answer your ex-
pectation.

Our friendship is as old as our acquaintance,
which you know is of no inconsiderable stand-
ing, and complimental speeches between us
were, by consent, banished from the beginning,
as being unsuitable to that sincerity which a
strict friendship requires. But I may say, with
great truth, there is but one other in the world
could prevail with me to communicate, in
writing, such circumstances as I perfectly fore-
see will make up great part of this correspond-
ence ; and therefore I must stipulate, even

exclusive privilege, expecting the whole population of every
country he visits, to put themselves out of their way, lest he
should be put out of his. This makes the manners of the Eng-
lish much less acceptable in other countries than those of the
Irish and Scots, who are less fastidious, and have more social
and good humoured pliancy of character. The Englishman pur-
sues his own beaten path firmly and with dignity ; but if turned
out of it, he is miserable and helpless. The Irishman and Scots-
man, accustomed to less indulgence at home, take the path that
is most convenient if it is not so good as might be wished, the
Irishman comforts himself that it is no worse, and the Scotsman
sets about devising how he may mend it.

LETTER I. 3

with you, that none of my future letters, on this
subject, may be shown to any other than our

common friend , in whom you know we

can confide.

I have several reasons for this precaution,
which I make no doubt you will approve.

First, The contrary might create inconveni-
ences to me in my present situation.

It might furnish matter for disobliging com-
parisons, to which some of our countrymen are
but too much addicted.

This again might give offence, especially to
such who are so national as not to consider,
that a man's native country is not of his own
making, or his being born in it the effect of his
choice.

And lastly, It would do me no great honour
to be known to have made a collection of inci-
dents, mostly low, and sometimes disagreeable.
Yet even in this I have a common observation
on my side, which is, That the genuine character
of any particular person may be best discovered,
when he appears in his domestic capacity ;
when he is free from all restraint by fear of
foreign observation and censure; and, by a pa-
rity of reason, the genius of a whole people
may be better known by their actions and in-
clinations in their native country, than it can
be from remarks made upon any numbers of
B 2

4 LETTER I.

*>

them, when they are dispersed in other parts
of the world.

In public, all mankind act more or less in
disguise.

If I were to confine myself to the customs of
the country and the manners of the people, I
think it would need but little apology to the
most national; for the several members of every
community think themselves sufficiently fur-
nished with arguments, whereby to justify their
general conduct ; but in speaking of the country,
1 have met with some, who, in hearing the most
modest description of any part of it, have been
suddenly acted upon by an unruly passion,
complicated of jealousy, pity, and anger : this,
I have often compared in my mind to the yearn-
ings of a fond mother for a misshapen child,
when she thinks any one too prying into its de-
formity.

If I shall take notice of any thing amiss,
either here or in the Mountains, which they
know to be wrong, and it is in their power to
amend, I shall apply, in my own justification,
what is said by Spenser upon a like occasion :

" The best (said he) that I can you advise,

Is to avoid the occasion of the ill :
For, when the cause whence evil doth arise

Removed is, the effect surceaseth still."

The Highlands are but little known even to

LETTER I. 5

the inhabitants of the low country of Scotland,
for they have ever dreaded the difficulties and
dangers of travelling among the mountains;
and when some extraordinary occasion has
obliged any one of them to such a progress, he
has, generally speaking, made his testament
before he set out, as though he were entering
upon a long and dangerous sea voyage, wherein
it was very doubtful if he should ever return.

But to the people of England, excepting some
few, and those chiefly the soldiery, the High-
lands are hardly known at all : for there has
been less, that I know of, written upon the
subject, than of either of the Indies ; and even
that little which has been said, conveys no idea
of what a traveller almost continually sees and
meets with in passing among the mountains ;
nor does it communicate any notion of the
temper of the natives, while they remain in their
own country.

The verbal misrepresentations that have been
made of the Lowlands are very extraordinary ;
and though good part of it be superior in the
quality of the soil to the north of England, and
in some parts equal to the best of the south,
yet there are some among our countrymen who
are so prejudiced, that they will not allow (or
not own) there is any thing good on this side
the Tweed. On the other hand, some flattering

6 LETTER I.

accounts that have been published, what with
commendation, and what with concealment,
might induce a stranger to both parts of the
island, to conclude, that Scotland in general is
the better country of the two ; and I wish it
were so (as we are become one people) for the
benefit of the whole.

About a week ago, I borrowed a book called
' A Journey through Scotland,' published in the
year 1723; and having dipped into it in many
places, I think it might with more propriety be
called, ' A Journey to the Heralds Office, and
the Seats of the Nobility and Gentry of North-
Britain.'

He calls almost all their houses palaces. He
makes no less than five in one street, part of
the suburbs of Edinburgh,* besides the real
palace of Holyrood-House ; but if you were to
see them with that pompous title, you would
be surprised, though you would think some
of them good houses when mentioned with
modesty.

But I think every one of the five would
greatly suffer by the comparison, if they stood

* Peop'c commonly denominate the house of a duke, as they
do an episcopal residence, a palace ,• and before the Union,
many of the principal nobility of Scotland had houses in (he
Canongait of Edinburgh, to which a common tradesman would
now be ashamed to invite his friends.

LETTER I. 7

near Marlborough-House in St. James's Park ;
and yet nobody ever thought of erecting that
building into a palace.

It would be contrary to my inclination, and
even ridiculous to deny, that there is a great
number of noble and spacious old seats in
Scotland, besides those that were kings' palaces,
of both which some are built in a better taste
than most of the old seats in England that I
have seen : these I am told were built after the
models of Sir William Bruce, who was their
Inigo Jones; but many of them are now in a
ruinous condition. And it must be confessed
there are some very stately modern buildings :
but our itinerant author gives such magnificent
descriptions of some of his palaces, as carry
with them nothing but disappointment to the
eye of the travelling spectator.

He labours the plantations about the country-
seats so much, that he shows thereby what a
rarity trees are in Scotland ; and indeed it has
been often remarked, that here are but few
birds except such as build their nests upon the
ground, so scarce are hedges and trees.*

* The Scots have all the birds of song that are found in Eng-
land, except the nightingale ; like the Germans, they are par-
ticularly fond of them as pets, and never kill them for the table.
Some have supposed that, before the disforesting of the north of
England and the lowlands of Scotland, and when the climate

8 LETTER J.

The post-house at Haddiiigton, a wretched
inn, by comparison, he says, is inferior to none
on the London road.

In this town he says there are coffee-houses
and taverns as in England; — Who would not
thence infer, there are spacious rooms, many
waiters, plentiful larders, &c. ? And as to the
only coffee-room we have, I shall say something
of it in its proper place.

But the writer is held greatly in esteem by
the people here, for calling this the ' pretty
town of Inverness/ How often have I heard
those words quoted with pleasure !

Here I am about to premise something in
relation to the sheets which are to follow : And
first, I intend to send you one of these letters
every fortnight, and oftener if I find it conve-
nient, till I have, as I may say, writ myself

was certainly better than it has been for some time back, they
had the nightingale also. The meaning of the name of this
bird jn the French, Italian, &c. is beautifully poetical. It is
Celtic, and is still preserved in the Scots-Gaelic and Irish, Ros-
AN-CEOL, the rose-music; the melody finely substituted for the
melodist; the former being often heard, whilst the 'atter is
seldom seen. The oriental fable of the Nightingale and the Rose
is well known, and needs no other explication than simply observ-
ing, that the queen of sylvan melodists, and the queen of
flowers, come and go together ; and that nightingales sing only
while roses blow.

LETTER I. 9

quite out. In doing this, I shall not confine
myself to order or method, but take my para-
graphs just as they come to hand, except where
one fact or observation naturally arises from
another. Nor shall I be solicitous about the
elegancy of style, but content myself with an
endeavour only to be understood ; for both or
either of those niceties would deprive me of
some other amusements, and that, I am sure,
you do not expect, nor would you suffer it if
you could help it.

There will be little said that can be appli-
cable to Scotland in general ; but if any thing
of that nature should occur, I shall note it to
be so.

All parts of the Highlands are not exactly
alike, either in the height of the country or the
customs and manners of the natives, of whom
some are more civilised than others.

Nothing will be set down but what I have
personally known, or received from such whose
information I had no reason to suspect; ancf all
without prejudice or partiality. And lastly, I
shall be very sparing of the names of particular
persons (especially when no honour can be
dispensed by the mention of them), not only as
they are unknown to you, but, to tell you the
truth, in prudence to myself ; for, as our letters
are carried to Edinburgh the Hill-way, by a

10 LETTISH 1.

foot post, there is one who makes no scruple to
intrude, by means of his emissaries, into the
affairs and sentiments of others, especially if
he fancies there is any thing relating to himself;
so jealous and inquisitive is guilt. And there-
fore I shall neglect no opportunity of sending
them to Edinburgh by private hands. But if
you should be curious at any time to know the
name of some particular person ; in that case,
a hint, and the date of my letter, will enable me
to give you that satisfaction.

But I must add, that the frequent egotisms
which I foresee I shall be obliged to use in
passages merely relating to myself, incline me
to wish that our language would sometimes (like
the French) admit of the third person, only to
vary the eternal (I).

This is all I have to say by way of preface :
what apologies I may have occasion to make in
my progress, I do not know; but I promise,
that as they are dry, so shall they be as few as
possible.

LETTER II.

ABOUT a twelvemonth after I first came to this
town, and had been twice to Edinburgh by the
way of the Hills, I received a letter from an
old acquaintance, desiring me to give him an
account of my first journey hither, the same to
commence from the borders of Scotland.

I could not, you may imagine, conceive the
meaning of a request so extraordinary ; but
however I complied implicitly. Some time
afterwards, by a letter of thanks, I was given
to understand, it was an expedient, agreed
upon between him and another, whereby to
decide a dispute.

Now all this preface is only to introduce my
request to you, that you will absolve me from
the promise I made you last week, and in lieu
of what you might demand, accept of a copy
of that letter.

I should not have waved my promised design,
but for an affair which something related to
myself, and required my attention, and there-
fore I could not find time to tack together so

12 LETTER II.

many memorandums, as such letters, as 1 in-
tend to send you, require ; for if they are not
pretty long, I shall be self-condemned, since
you know I used to say, by way of complaint

against , That letters from one friend to

another should be of a length proportioned to
the distance between them.

After some compliments, my letter was as
follows : .;

" According to your desire, I shall begin my
account with the entertainment I met with after
passing the Tweed at Kelso, but shall not
trouble you with the exaction and intolerable
insolence of the ferrymen, because I think you
can match their impudence at our own horse-
ferry : I shall only say, that I could obtain no
redress, although I complained of them to the
principal magistrate of the town.

" Having done with them, my horses were
led to the stable, and myself conducted up one
pair of stairs, where I was soon attended by a
handsome genteel man, well dressed, who gave
me a kindly welcome to the house.

" This induced me to ask him what I could
have to eat : to which he civilly answered, The
good wife will be careful nothing shall be want-
ing ; but that he never concerned himself about
any thing relating to the public (as he called it) :
that is, he would have me know he was a gentle-

LETTER II. 13

man, and did not employ himself in any thing
so low as -attendance, hut left it to his wife.*
Thus he took his leave of me ; and soon after
came up my landlady, whose dress and appear-
ance seemed to me to be so unfit for the wife
of that gentleman, that I could hardly believe
she was any other than a servant ; but she soon
took care, in her turn, by some airs she gave
herself, to let me know she was mistress of the
house.

" I asked what was to be had, and she told
me potted pigeons; and nothing, I thought,
could be more agreeable, as requiring no wait-

* There are several people still living who remember " mine
host'' of Kelso, and his manner, just such as they are described
here ; but there were many such in the country at that time, who
urged no pretensions to gentility. It was in Scotland, as on the
bye-roads in England a few years back, where there were few
travellers, and little profit for inn-keepers; the husband was
obliged to follow some other avocation for the support of his fa-
mily, and leave the concerns of the house entirely to his wife,
who was too sensible of the importance of her charge to share it
with any body. It was from her alone, that the inn took its de-
nomination ; and she was emphatically called the brewster~wife,
because the character of her charge depended chiefly upon her
skill in brewing, and the quality of her ale. — Sometimes the
husband's politeness, and sometimes, no doubt, l\is forwardness,
led him to do the honours in his own house ; but there was no
affectation in his saying that he never meddled with the manage-
ment of it ; for a brewster-wife who would have suflcrcd such
interference would have been very unfit for her place.

14 LETTER II.

ing, after a fatiguing day's journey in which I
had eaten nothing.

"The cloth was laid, but I was too unwilling
to grease my fingers to touch it ; and presently
after, the pot of pigeons was set on the table.

" When I came to examine my cates, there
were two or three of the pigeons lay mangled
in the pot, and behind were the furrows, in the
butter, of those fingers that had raked them
out of it, and the butter itself needed no close
application to discover its quality.

" My disgust at this sight was so great, and
being a brand-new traveller in this country,
I ate a crust of bread, and drank about a pint
of good claret ; and although the night was ap-
proaching, I called for my horses, and marched
off, thinking to meet with something better :
but I was benighted on a rough moor, and met
with yet worse entertainment at a little house
which was my next quarters.

" At my first entrance I perceived some things
like shadows moving about before the fire,
which was made with peats ; and going nearer
to them, I could just discern, and that was all,
two small children in motion, stark naked, and
a very old man sitting by the fire-side.

" I soon went out, under pretence of care
for my horses, but in reality to relieve my lungs
and eyes of the smoke. At my return I could

LETTER IT. 15

perceive the old man's fingers to be in a very
bad condition, and immediately I was seized
with an apprehension that I should be put into
his bed.

" Here I was told I might have a breast of
mutton done upon the brander (or gridiron) :
but when it was brought me, it appeared to
have been smoked and dried in the chimney
corner ; and it looked like the glue that hangs
up in an ironmonger's shop : this, you may be-
lieve, was very disgusting to the eye : and for
the smell, it had no other, that 1 could percieve,
than that of the butter wherewith it was greased
in the dressing ; but, for my relief, there were
some new-laid eggs, which were my regale.
And now methinks I hear one of this country

say, a true Englishman ! he is already

talking of eating.

" When I had been conducted to my lodging-
room, I found the curtains of my bed* were

* Out of one of the beds on which \ve were to repose, started
up at our entrance a man, black as a Cyclops from the forge.
Other circumstances of no elegant recital concurred to disgust
us. We had been frightened by a lady at Edinburgh, with dis-
couraging representations of Highland lodging : sleep, however,
was necessary. Our Highlanders had at last found some hay,
with which the inn could not supply them. I directed them to
bring a bundle into the room, and slept upon it in my riding-coat.

Johnson s Journey. Works, vol. viii. 262.

1G LETTER II.

very foul by being handled by the dirty
wenches ; and the old man's fingers being pre-
sent with me, I sat down by the fire, and asked
myself, for which of my sins I was sent into this
. country ; but I have been something reconciled
to it since then, for we have here our pleasures
and diversions, though not in such plenty and
variety, as you have in London.

" But to proceed : Being tired and sleepy,
at last I came to a resolution to see how my
bed looked within side, and to my joy I found
exceeding good linen, white, well aired and
hardened, and I think as good as in our best
inns in England, so I slept very comfortably.

" And here I must take notice of what I have
since found almost every where, but chiefly in
the Low-country, that is, good linen ; for the
spinning descends from mother to daughter by
succession, till the stock becomes consider-
able; insomuch that even the ordinary people
are generally much better furnished in that par-
ticular, than those of the same rank in Eng-
land— I am speaking chiefly of sheeting and
table-linen.

" There happened nothing extraordinary be-
tween this place and Edinburgh, where I made
no long stay.

" When I first came into the high-street of
that city, I though I had not seen any thing of

LETTER II. 17

the kind more magnificent : the extreme height
of the houses,* which are, for the most part, built
with stone, and well sashed ; the breadth and
length of the street, and (it being dry weather)
a cleanness made by the high winds, I was ex-
tremely pleased to find every thing look so un-
like the descriptions of that town which had
been given me by some of my countrymen.

" Being a stranger, I was invited to sup at a
tavern. The cook was too filthy an object to be
described; only another English gentleman
whispered me and said, he believed, if the fel-
low was to be thrown against the wall, he would
stick to it.

" Twisting round and round his hand a greasy
towel, he stood waiting to know what we would
have for supper, and mentioned several things
himself; among the rest, a duke, afoot, or a
meer-fool. This was nearly according to his
pronunciation; but he meant a duck, a fowl, or
a moor-fowl, or grouse.|

* The view of the houses at a distance strikes the traveller
with wonder ; their own loftiness improved by their almost aerial
situation, gives them a look of magnificence not to be found in any
other part of Great Britain. — Pennant's Scotland, vol. i. 63.

f Had it been for dinner, he would probably have recom-
mended also a bubly-jock (Turkey cock), a pully (pullet), a bawd
(hare), and rabbits, under names which might have led a gay
young militaire still farther astray ; with a tappit-hen (quart
pot of ale), to wash all down.

VOL. I. C

18 LETTER II.

" We supped very plentifully, and drank good
French claret, and were very merry till the
clock struck ten, the hour when every-body is
at liberty, by beat of the city drum, to throw
their filth out at the windows. Then the com-
pany began to light pieces of paper, and throw
them upon the table to smoke the room,
and, as I thought, to mix one bad smell with
another.

" Being in my retreat to pass through a long
narrow wynde or alley, to go to my new lodgings,
a guide was assigned me, who went before me
to prevent my disgrace, crying out all the
way, with a loud voice, " Hud your haunde."
The throwing up of a sash, or otherwise opening
a window, made me tremble, while behind and
before me, at some little distance, fell the ter-
rible shower.

" Well, I escaped all the danger, and arrived,
not only safe and sound, but sweet and clean,
at my new quarters ; but when I was in bed I
was forced to hide my head between the
sheets ; for the smell of the filth, thrown out by
the neighbours on the back side of the house,
came pouring into the room to such a degree, I
was almost poisoned with the stench."

I shall here add to my letter, as I am making
a copy of it, a few observations.

When I was last in Edinburgh I set myself

LETTER II.

to consider of this great annoyance, and, in
conclusion, found it remediless.

" The city, it seems, was built upon that
rock for protection, by the castle, in dangerous
times ; but the space was too narrow to con-
tain a sufficient number of inhabitants, other-
wise than by very high buildings, crowded close
together, insomuch that there are hardly any
back yards.

" Eight, ten, and even twelve stories have
each a particular family, and perhaps a sepa-
rate proprietor ; and therefore any thing so ex-
pensive as a conveyance down from the up-
permost floor could never be agreed on; or
could there be made, within the building, any
receiver suitable to such numbers of people.

" There is indeed between the city and the
sea a large flat space of land, with a rivulet
running through it, which would be very com-
modious for a city: but great part of it has
been made the property of the corporation ;
and the magistrates for the time being will not
suffer any houses to be built on it ; for if they
did, the old city would soon be deserted, which
would bring a very great loss upon some, and
total ruin upon others, of the proprietors in
those buildings."

I have said thus much upon this uncleanly
subject, only, as you may have heard some ma-

c 2

20 LETTER II.

liciously, or at best inconsiderately, say, that
this evil proceeds from (what one would think
nobody could believe) a love of nastiness, and
not necessity. I shall only add, as it falls in
my way, that the main street is cleaned by
scavengers every morning early, except Sun-
day, which therefore is the most uncleanly
day.*

But to return. Having occasion the next
morning after my arrival to inquire for a person
\rith whom I had some concerns, I was amazed
at the length and gibberish of a direction given
me where to find him.

I was told that I must go down the street,
and on the north side, over-against such a
place, turn down such a wynde; and, on the
west side of the wynde, inquire for such a launde
(or building), where the gentleman stayd, at the
thrid stair, that is, three stories high.

This direction in a language I hardly under-
stood, and by points of the compass which I
then knew nothing of, as they related to the
town, put me to a good deal of difficulty.

At length I found out the subject of my in-
quiry, who was greatly diverted when I told
him (with as much humour as I was master of)
what had been my perplexity. Yet in my nar-

* No immundities are now deposited in the kennels on Sa-
turday night. — See Note at the end of this Letter.

LETTER IT. 21

ration I concealed the nauseous inconvenience
of going down the steep narrow wynde, and as-
cending to his lodging.

I then had no knowledge of the cawdys, a very
useful blackguard, who attend the coffee-houses
and public places to go of errands ; and though
they are wretches, that in rags lie upon the
stairs, and in the streets at night, yet are they
often considerably trusted, and, as I have been
told, have seldom or never proved unfaithful.

These boys know every body in the town
who is of any kind of note, so that one of them
would have been a ready guide to the place I
wanted to find ; and I afterwards wondered that
one of them was not recommended to me by
my new landlady.

This corps has a kind of captain or magistrate
presiding over them, whom they call the con-
stable of the cawdys, and in case of neglect or
other misdemeanor he punishes the delinquents,
mostly by fines of ale and brandy, but some-
times corporally.

They have for the most part an uncommon
acuteness, are very ready at proper answers,
and execute suddenly and well whatever em-
ployment is assigned them.

Whether it be true or not I cannot say, but I
have been told by several, that one of the
judges formerly abandoned two of his sons for

22 LETTER Jl.

a time to this way of life, as believing it would
create in them a sharpness which might be of
use to them in the future course of their lives.

This is all that I knew of Edinburgh at that
time, by reason of the shortness of my stay.
The day following, my affairs called me to begin
my journey to Glasgow.

Glasgow is, to outward appearance, the pret-
tiest and most uniform town that 1 ever saw;
and I believe there is nothing like it in Britain.

It has a spacious carrifour, where stands the
cross ; and going round it, you have, by turns,
the view of four streets, that in regular angles
proceed from thence. The houses of these
streets are faced with Ashler stone, they are
well sashed, all of one model, and piazzas run
through them on either side, which give a good
air to the buildings.

There are some other handsome streets, but
the extreme parts of the town are mean and
disagreeable to the eye.

There was nothing remarkable in my way to
Glasgow, that I took notice of, being in haste,
but the church at Linlithgow, a noble old Go-
thic building, formerly a cathedral, now much
in ruins, chiefly from the usual rage that at-
tends reformation.*

* In England, the Reformation emanated from thfe court,
and the higher orders of society, as well ecclesiastics as others.

LETTER II. 23

It is really provoking to see how the popu-
lace have broke and defaced the statues and
other ornaments, under the notion of their be-
ing relics of Popery.

As this town was our baiting-place, a gentle-
man (the son of a celebrated Scots bishop) who

and was conducted with comparative dignity, moderation, and
decency. In Scotland, it was the work of the rabble, headed by
a few able, daring, and ambitious ghostly demagogues, either
destitute of good taste, or obliged to pretend to be so, in order
to preserve their popularity with the vulgar, who were their
tools. Their principle was, to overturn every thing religious
that was established, and to produce an establishment as opposite
as possible in every thing to that which they had overturned.
Using the Lord's Prayer, or Doxology, in public worship, was
denounced as an infallible mark of the beast ; and had the reading
of the Scriptures been more encouraged by the Roman Catholics,
that also would have been discarded. — Amid the general wreck
of ecclesiastical structures, during the fury of " rooting out rooks,
by pulling down their nests," the cathedral of Glasgow had a
very narrow escape, and was preserved by the good sense and
address of one of the magistrates. It had been decreed that that
venerable old building, polluted by the abominations of Popery,
should be razed to the ground ; to which this magistrate gave his
hearty consent, as in duty bound ; but observed at the same time,
that building churches was a very expensive matter, and money
very scarce ; the house had never sinned, if the archbishop and
his clergy had ; the people had Jffcwhere else to meet for the
worship of God ; and, in his humble opinion, it would be more
prudent not to pull down the old church, till they had raised
money to build a new one. — This judicious appeal to their pockets
saved the edifice.

24 LETTER II.

was with me, proposed, that while dinner was
getting ready we should go and view the inside
of the structure ; and as we took notice that
great part of the floor was broken up, and that
the pews were immoderately dusty, the pre-
centor, or clerk, who attended us, took occa-
sion to say, he did not apprehend that clean-
liness was essential to devotion ; upon which,
my friend turned hastily upon him, and said
very angrily,

" What! This church was never intended for
your slovenly worship." This epithet, pro-
nounced with so much ardour, immediately after
his censure of the Presbyterian zeal, was to me
some matter of speculation.

My stay at Glasgow was very short, as it
had been at Edinburgh, to which last, in five
days, I returned, in order to proceed to this
town.

Upon consulting some gentlemen, which of
the two ways was most eligible for me to take,
i. e. whether through the Highlands, or by the
sea-coast, I found they were divided; one
giving a dreadful account of the roughness and
danger of the mountains, another commending
the shortness of the cut over the hills. One
told me it was a hundred and fifty miles by the
coast, another that it was but ninety miles the
other way: but I decided the matter myself

LETTER II. 25

upon the strength of the old proverb — " That
the farthest way about is the' nearest way
home." Not but that I sometimes met with
roads which, at that time, I thought pretty
rough ; but after passing through the Highlands,
they were all smoothed, in my imagination, into
bowling-greens.

As the country near the coast has, here and
there, little rising hills which overlook the sea,
and discover towns at a considerable distance,
I was well enough diverted with various pro-
spects in my journey, and wanted nothing but
trees, enclosures, and smoother roads, to make
it very agreeable.

The Lowlands, between the sea and the high
country, to the left, are generally narrow ; and
the rugged, romantic appearance of the moun-
tains was to me, at that time, no bad prospect;
but since that, I have been taught to think
otherwise, by the sufferings I have met with
among them.

I had little reason to complain of my enter-
tainment at the several houses where I set up,
because I never wanted what was proper for
the support of life, either for myself or my
horses : I mention them, because, in a journey,
they are as it were a part of one's self. The
worst of all was the cookery.

One thing I observed of almost all the towns

26 LETTER II.

that I saw at a distance, which was, that they
seemed to be very large, and made a handsome
appearance ; but when I passed through them,
there appeared a meanness which discovered
the condition of the inhabitants: and all the
out-skirts, which served to increase the extent
of them at a distance, were nothing but the
ruins of little houses, and those in pretty great
numbers.

Of this I asked the reason, and was told,
that when one of those houses was grown old
and decayed, they often did not repair it, but,
taking out the timber, they let the walls stand
as a fit enclosure for a cale-yard (i. e. a little
garden for coleworts), and that they built anew
upon another spot.* By this you may conclude
that stone and ground-rents in those towns are
not very valuable. But the little fishing-towns
were generally disagreeable to pass, from the
strong smell of the haddocks and whitings that
were hung up to dry on lines along the sides of

* There was another reason. The cottagers very commonly
built their own cottages, reserving to themselves the right of
carrying off the timber when they quitted, in case the next
tenant did not choose to pay them for it. The/ozcrf (Gael./oiV/,
a sod) of an old house was accounted excellent manure, after
being thoroughly smoked and half-burnt ; and it was usual with
the Highlanders to pull down their sod huts every four or five
years for this purpose, and build others of similar materials, to be
in a state of preparation.

LETTER II. 27

the houses from one end of the village to the
other: and such numbers of half-naked chil-
dren, but fresh-coloured, strong, and healthy,
I think are not to be met with in the inland
towns. Some will have their numbers and
strength to be the effects of shell-fish.

I have one thing more to observe to you,
which is, that still as I went northward, the
cattle and the carts grew less and less. The
sheep likewise diminished in their size by de-
grees as I advanced; and their wool grew
coarser, till at length, upon a transient view,
they seemed to be clothed with hair. This I
think proceeds less from the quality of the soil
than the excessive cold of the hills in the win-
ter season, because the mutton is exceedingly
good.*

* The small breed of sheep peculiar to the North of Scotland,
and which is supposed to have come originally from Norway,
being still found in Iceland, and in the islands of Orkney and
Shetland, was very hardy, easily fed, their mutton exquisite, and
the fleeces soft, as every one knows who has worn Shetland hose.
If the Merino sheep lately introduced, should not, after com-
petent trial, be found to answer so well as was expected, it
might be worth while to make some experiments of a cross with
the Shetland breed. The Shetlanders still tear off the wool in-
stead of shearing it. As this is done after the roots of the wool
have been forced out of the skin by the young fleece, the process
is not so cruel as it appears to be ; but it is bad economy, because
much of what first becomes loose, is cast in the natural way. and
lost.

28 LETTER II.

Thus I have acquainted you how I came
hither, and I hope it will not now be very long
before I have a greater pleasure in telling you,
by word of mouth, in what manner I got home ;
yet must I soon return.*

* The account in the foregoing letter of the untidyness of
Edinburgh is uncommonly moderate, and the observations on it
much more charitable than it deserved. A remnant of this na-
tional reproach is still left, from nine at night till seven in the
morning, enough to provoke an Englishman of the present day to
say nearly as much as our author has said. How the case stood
a century earlier may be collected from the following curious
order of the Privy Council of Scotland to the Magistrates, dated
March 4, A. D. 1619:—

" Act Anent the Burgh of Edinburgh.

" FORSAMEKLE as the burgh of Edinburgh, quhilk is the
chief and principall burgh of this kingdome, quhair the soverane
and heich courtes of Parliament, his Majesties Preuie the Counsall
and Colledge of Justice, and the Courtis of Justiciarie and Ad-
miralitie ar ordinarlie haldin and keipt, and quhairunto the best
pairt of the subiectis of this kingdome, of all dcgreis, rankis, and
qualities, hes a commoun and frequent resorte and repare, — is now
become so iilthie and vncleine, and the streittis, venallis, wyndis,
and cloissis thairoff so overlayd and coverit with middingis, and
with the filth and excrement of man and beist, as the noblemen,
counsellouris, servitouris, and uthers his Majesties subiectis quha
ar ludgeit within the said burgh, can not have ane cleine and frie
passage and entrie to thair ludgeingis; quhairthrow thair ludge-
ingis ar becum so lothsume vnto thame, as they ar resolved rather
to mak choice of ludgeingis in the Cannongate and Leyth, or some
utheris pairtis about the tovvne, nor to abyde the sycht of this
schamefull vncleanes and filthiness ; quhilk is so universal! and

LETTER II. 29

in such abundance throuch all the pairtis of this burgh, as in the
heitt of somer it corruptis the air, and gives greit occasioun of
seikness : and forder, this schamefull and beistlie filthines is most
detestable and odious in the sicht of strangeris, quho beholding
the same, ar constrayned with roassoun to gif oute mony disgrace-
full speiches aganis this burgh, calling it a most filthie pudle of
filth and vncleannes, the lyk quhairof is not to be seine in no pairt
of the world ; quhilk being a greate discredite to the haill king-
dome, that the principall and heid burgh thairof sould be so void
of pollice, civilitie, ordour, and gude governement, as the hie
streittis of the same cannot be keipit cleine ; and the Lordis of
Secreit Counsall, vnderstanding perfytelie that the said burgh, and
all the streittis and vennallis thairof, may very easilie, and with
litill ado, be keipit and haldin cleine, gif the people thameselffis
wer weill and civillie disposit, and gif the Magistratis tuk caire
to caus thame, and everie ane of thame, keip the streittis fora-
nentis thair awin boundis clein, as is done in vther civiH, hand-
some, and weill governcit cities: THAIRFOIR, the Lordis of
Secreit Counsall commandis and ordanis, be thir presents, the
Provest and Baillies of Edinburgh to tak and set downe sum setled
and solide odoure and course how the said burgh and the cloissis,
wvndis, and streittis thairof may be haldin and kepit cleine, the
middingis, and all other filthe and vncleannes removed, and tane
away, by appointing every neichbour of the toune to keip the
streittis foranent his awin dwelling cJeane ; and that no nichtbour
lay thair middingis, souppingis of thair housis, nor na uther filthe,
vpoun his nichtbouris boundis and hie streittis, vnder some res-
sonable paines, to be imposit and exactit of the contravenaris ;
and that the saidis Provest and Baillies appoynt a constabill for
every closse to sie thair ordinance putt in executioun, and the con-
travenaris punist, be exacting of the saidis paines from thame;
certifeing the saidis Provest and Baillies gif they be remiss, or
negligent heirin, the saidis Lordis will tak thame to thame, and,

30 LETTER II.

accordinglie, will tak such ordoar herein as they sail think expe-
dient."— (Reg. Sec. Cone. Mar. 4, 1619.)

Such was the state of our capital at home. What figure
many of the Scots then made in England, and how they were re-
ceived by their most gracious sovereign, now the mighty ruler
of three kingdoms, who wanted money to feed and clothe his
servants, will appear from the following extracts from the same
record: —

" Apud Edinburgh Decimo Maij 1611.
" Proclamatioun anent the repairing of personis to Courte.

" FORSAMEKLE as the frequent and dailie resoirt of grite nom-
beris of Idill personis men and wemen of base soirt and con-
ditioun, and without ony certane trade, calling, or dependance,
going from hense to Courte, be sey and land, is not onlie verv
vnplesant and offensiue to the kingis Maiestie, in so far as he is
daylie importuned with thair suitis and begging, and his royal 1
Courte almost filled with thame, thay being, in the opinioune and
consait of all behaldaris, bot ydill rascallis, and poore miserable
bodyis; bot with that this cuntrcy is havelie disgraceit, and mony
sclanderous imputations gevin oute aganis the same, as iff thaiv
wer no personis of goode ranke comlynes nor credite within the
same; And the kingis Maiestie and lordis of secreit counsaill,
[considering] how far suche imputationis may tuitche this cuntrey,
and what impressioun it will mak in the hairlis of the commoun
multitude of the nightbour cuntrey, whenas thay see his Maiestie
importuned and fascheit, and his royal! courte filled with suche
nomberis of Idill suitaris and vncomelie people; and the said is
lordis, thairfoir, being carefull to prevent all forder occasioun of
reproitche or sclander of the cuntrey, by staying, so far as possible
may be, all forder resoirt of thir ydill people to Courte ; Thair-
foir Ordanis Lettres to be direct Charging officiaris of annes to
pas to the mercatt croces of the heid burrowis and sey poirtis of

LETTER II. 31

this kingdome, and thair be oppin proclamatioun, To Command
charge and inhibite the maisteris, awnaris, skipparis, and inari-
naris of whatsomeuir schippis and veschellis, That nane of thame
presume nor tak vpoun hand, To transporte or cary in thair schip-
pis ony passingeris from hense to England, quhill first thay gif
vp to the saidis lordis the names of the passingearis and Jatt the
Lordis vndirstand and know what Lauchi'ull errand thay haif, and
procure licence for thair transporting, vndir the pane of confis-
catioun of the schippis and veschellis, and of all the mouable
goodis pertening to the saidis skipparis, maisteris. and marinaris,
to his Maiesties vse."

" Apud Edinburgh 1615. xxij. Nouembris.
" Act anent the repairing of personis to Courte.

" FORS.AMEKLE as it is vnderstand to the Lordis of secreitcoun*
saill, that there is grite nomberis of Idill and impertinent suite-
aris, who daylie repairis from this kingdome towardis his Maties
Courte and presence, and, in the mides of his maties most impor-
tant affairis, vexis and molestis his Maiestie with thair petitionis
and suitis, outher for debteis alreddy payit, or vniustlie acclamed
vpoun fals pretendit groundis and pretensis; And whereas there
is no sort of importunitye more vngratious to his Maiestie, nor
mpre derogatorye to the honour and credite of this his Maiesteis
antient kingdome, nor that whilk proceidis frome the base vn-
comely and frequent resoirt of suche vagrantis and impertinent
sutearis to his Malies Courte and presence; And seeing his Ma-
iestie is gratiously dispoisit to gif ordour and directioun for satis-
factioun of all such debtis whairin his Maiestie is Justlie addebteit
to ony of his subiectis, The same debtis being first hard, examined,
and considderit, be the Lordis commissionaris of his Maiesteis
rentis, and the sutearis thairof being recommendit frome the saidis
lordis to his Maiestie, with thair declaratioun and testificatioun
that the debt craved is a Just and trew debt : Thairfore, the
Lordis of secreit counsaill ordanis Lettres to be direct to officiaris

32 LETTER II.

of armes, chargeing thame to pas to the mercatt croce of
burgh and otheris placeis neidfully And thair to Command,
charge, and inhibite, all and sindrie hismaiesteisliegisandsubiectis
whatsomeuer, who acclames ony debteis to be avvand be his
maiestie to thame, That nane of thame pressume nor tak vpoun
hand, To resoirte and repair to his Maues Courte and presence,
nor importune hismaiestie with thair petitiounsandsuitis, for ony
debtis aeclamed be thame, quhill first thay acquent the saidis lordis
commissionaris of his maues rentisj with thair petitiouns and suitis
for ony debtis aeclamed be thame, and with the nature and caus
of the debt, and obtene thair recommendatioun and licence to
repair to his maiestie for that effect, vnder the pane of forfeyting
and lossing of tbair right to that whilk thay acclame, and forder,
vnder the pane of pvnishment of thame in thair personis and
good's, at the arbitrament of his Maties CounselL"

LETTER III.

I AM now about to enter upon the performance
of my promise, and shall begin with a descrip-
tion of this town, which, however obscure it
may be thought with you, yet is of no inconsi-
derable account in these remote regions. And
it is often said to be the most like to an English
town of any at this end of the island.

But I have a further view than barely to make
you acquainted with these parts without your
having the inconveniences, fatigue, and hazards
of a northern journey of five hundred miles;
and that design is, to show you, by example, the
melancholy consequence of the want of manu-
factories and foreign trade, and most especially
with respect to the common people, whom it
affects even to the want of necessaries ; not to
mention the morals of the next degree. It is
here, indeed, their happiness, that they do not
so sensibly feel the want of these advantages,
as they would do if they had known the loss of
them.

And notwithstanding the natural fertility of

VOL. I. D

34 LETTER III.

the South, I am, by observation, taught to con-
clude, that without those important profits,
which enable the higher orders of men to spare
a part of their income to employ others in or-
namental and other works not absolutely neces-
sary ; I say, in that case, the ordinary people
with you would be, perhaps, not quite, but
nearly as wretched as these, whose circum-
stances almost continually excite in me the
painful passion of pity, as the objects of it are
seldom out of my sight.

I shall not make any remarks how much it is
incumbent on the rulers of kingdoms and states
(who are to the people what a father is to his
helpless family) to watch over this source of
human convenience and happiness, because
this has been your favourite topic, and indeed
the contrary would be in me (as the common
phrase is) " like carrying coals to Newcastle."

If wit were my talent, or even a genteel ri-
dicule, which is but a faint resemblance of wit
(if it may be said to be any thing like it) — I say,
if both or either of these were my gift, you
would not expect to be entertained that way
upon this account ; for you perfectly know that
poverty, simply as such, and unattended by
sloth, pride, and (let me say) other unsuitable
vices, was never thought by the judicious to
be a proper subject for wit or raillery. But I

LETTER III. 35

cannot forbear to observe, en passant, that those
pretenders to wit that deal in odious hyperboles
create distaste to ingenuous minds.

I shall give you only two examples of such
insipid jests. The first was, in describing the
country cabins in the north of Ireland, by saying,
one might put one's arm down the chimney and
unlatch the door. This regarded all of that
country ; but the other was personal to one
who, perhaps, had carried his economy a little
too far.

Sir,_says the joker to me, who was a stranger
to the other, this gentleman is a very generous
man — I made him a visit the other day, and
the bars of his grate were the wires of a bird-
cage, and he threw on his coals with an ockamy
spoon.

It is true, the laughing part of the company
were diverted with the sarcasm ; but it was so
much at the expense of the old gentleman, that
I thought he would run mad with resentment.

It would be needless to describe the situa-
tion of this town, as it relates to the island in
general, because a map of Britain will, at one
view, afford you a better idea of it than any
words I can put together for that purpose ; I
shall therefore content myself with saying only,
That the Murray Frith is navigable within less
than half a mile of the town, and that the rest

D 2

30 LLTTER III.

of the navigation to it is supplied by the river
Ness.

Inverness* is one of the royal boroughs of
Scotland, and, jointly with Nairne, Forres, and
Channery, sends a member to parliament.

The town has a military governor, and the
corporation a provost and four baillies, a kind
of magistrates little differing from our mayors
and aldermen : besides whom, there is a dean
of guild who presides in matters of trade ; and
other borough officers, as in the rest of the cor-
porate towns of this country.

* Mr. Pennant, who commenced his tour about fifty years later
than our author, says, " This town is large and well built, very
populous, and contains about eleven thousand inhabitants. This
being the last of any note in North Britain, is the winter resi-
dence of many of the neighbouring gentry, and the present em-
porium, as it was the ancient, of the north of Scotland.

" The opulence of this town has often made it the object of
plunder to the lords of the isles and their dependants. It suf-
, fered in particular in 1222 from one Gillispie, and in 1429 from
(Alexander lord of the isles ; and even so late did the ancient man-
ners prevail, that a head of a western clan in the latter end of the
last century, threatened the place with fire and sword, if they did
not pay. a large contribution, and present him with a scarlet laced
suit ; all which was complied with."1

Pennant's Scotland, vol. i. 1 78, 1 79,

In 1689, the Viscount Dundee found the Macdonalds of Keppocli
besieging Inverness on their own private account. On his obli-
gation for its ransom, they engaged in his service; but returned
to secure their plunder in Lockaber.

LETTER HI. 37

It is not only the head borough or county-
town of the shire of Inverness, which is of
large extent, but generally esteemed to be the
capital of the Highlands : but the natives do
not call themselves Highlanders, not so much
on account of their low situation, as because
they speak English.

This rule whereby to denominate themselves,
they borrow from the Kirk, which, in all its
acts and ordinances distinguishes the Lowlands
from the Highlands by the language generally
spoken by the inhabitants, whether the parish
or district lies in the high or low country.

Yet although they speak English, there are
scarce any who do not understand the Irish
tongue ; and it is necessary they should do so,
to carry on their dealings with the neighbouring
country people ; for within less than amile of the
town, there are few who speak any English at all.

What I am saying must be understood only
of the ordinary people ; for the gentry, for the r
most part, speak our language in the remotest
parts of Scotland.

The town principally consists of four streets,
of which three center at the cross, and the
other is something irregular.

The castle* stands upon a little steep hill.

* This castle used to be the residence of the court whenever
the Scottish princes were called to quell the insurrections of the

38 LETTER III.

closely adjoining to the town, on the south
side, built with unhewn stone : it was lately in

turbulent clans. — According to Boethius, Duncan was murdered
hereby Macbeth; but according to Fordun, near Elgin. Old people
still remember magnificent apartments embellished wilh stucco
busts and paintings. James the First ordered this castle to be
repaired in 1426, and directed that every lord beyond the Gram-
pian Mountains, in whose lands ancient castles stood, should repair
and dwell in them, or at least one of his friends, in order to govern
the country and expend the produce in the territory ; and finding
that the Highland chiefs were strangers to his laws and govern-
ment, he resolved to inculcate into their obduracy some principles
of good order by a salutary severity. The lords of the isles, in
particular, by their constant confederacy with England and re-
peated inroads, well deserved a signal chastisement. In pur-
suance of these motives the king assembled here a parliament in
the spring, which the Highland chieftains were specially sum-
moned to attend, and suddenly arrested Alexander, lord of the
isles, and his mother the countess of Ross, with others. Two of
the chiefs, leaders of a thousand each, were instantly tried, con-
demned, and beheaded ; and one who had murdered the late lord
of the isles was also executed in impartial justice. The others
were scattered as prisoners among the castles of different lords
through the kingdom; and after a time some were condemned to
death, and some were restored to liberty. The lord of the isles
and his mother were retained in captivity, till apparently after a
year or more the former was delivered, while the latter seems in
vain to have been retained as an hostage for his fidelity. — The
lord of the isles, on being liberated, received many admonitions
and injunctions of fidelity ; but, regardless of these, he soon in-
dulged his revenge, by gathering his lawless bands and burn-
ing the town of Inverness. — James, justly em-aged, collected an
army, and overtook the invader in a marshy ground near Locha-

LETTER III. 39

ruins, but is now completely repaired, to serve
as a part of the citadel of Fort George, whereof
the first foundation stone was laid in summer
] 726, and is to consist of barracks for six com-
panies. This castle, whereof the duke of
Gordon is hereditary keeper, was formerly a
royal palace, where Mary, the mother of our
king James the First, resided, at such times
when she thought it her interest to oblige the
Highlanders with her presence and expense,
or that her safety required it.

You will think it was a very scanty palace,
when I have told you, that before it was re-
paired, it consisted of only six lodging- rooms,
the offices below, and the gallery above; which
last being taken down, and the rooms divided

ber, where the free-booting lord was totally defeated. — His force
consisted of about ten thousand men, of whom two clans, Chatan
and Cameron, on the sight of the royal standard, acceded to the
king. The lord of the isles, reduced to despair, sent an embassy
to entreat peace, which being refused, he resolved to put himself
entirely in the king's mercy. For which purpose he came pri-
vately to Edinburgh, and on a solemn day, only attired in his
shirt and drawers, he, before the high altar of Holy Rood church,
upon his knees, presented his drawn sword to the king in the pre-
sence of the queen and many nobles. His life was granted in
consequence of his humble submission, but he was committed to
the castle of Tantallon, under the care of his nephew the earl of
Angus ; and his mother, the countess of Ross, to the island of
Inch Colm, in the Frith of Forth. — Pennant's Scotland, vol. i.
179.— Pinkertons Scotland, vol. i. 119, 123.

40 LETTER 111.

each into two, there are now twelve apartments
for officers' lodgings.

While this building was in repairing, three
soldiers, who were employed in digging up a
piece of ground very near the door, discovered
a dead body, which was supposed to be the
corps of a man ; I say supposed, because a
part of it was defaced before they were aware.

This was believed to have lain there a great
number of years, because when it was touched
it fell to dust. At this unexpected sight, the
soldiers most valiantly ran away, and the acci-
dent, you will believe, soon brought a good
number of spectators to the place.

As I was talking with one of the townsmen,
and took notice how strange it was that a body
should be buried so near the door of the house;
" Troth," says he, " I dinno doubt but this was
ane of Mary's lovers."

I verily believe this man had been after-
wards rebuked for this unguarded expression
to me, an Englishman ; because, when I hap-
pened to meet him in the street the day fol-
lowing, he officiously endeavoured to give his
words another turn, which made the impres-
sion 1 had received, much stronger than it
had been before.

But this I have observed of many (myself
not excepted), who, by endeavouring to excuse

LETTER 111. 41

a blunder, like a spirited horse in one of our
bogs, the more he struggles to get out, the
deeper he plunges himself in the mire.

Upon the whole, this hint at the policy of
her amours, from a native of this town, in-
duced me to believe there is some received
tradition among the people concerning her, not
much to the advantage of her memory.* I
had often heard something to this purpose in
London, but could not easily believe it; and
rather thought it might have arisen originally
from complaisance to one, who, if we may be-
lieve some Scots Memoirs, was as jealous of
the praises of her fine person, as apprehensive
of a much more dangerous competition..

Before I have done with the castle, I must
acquaint you with an odd accident that had
like to have happened to it, not many days
after the abovementioned discovery. And first
I must tell you, that one end of the building
extends to the edge of a very steep descent
to the river, and that slope is composed of a
very loose gravel.

The workmen had ignorantly dug away
some little part of the foot of the declivity, to
make a passage something wider between

* A rash and vulgar calumny of this sort, from a disciple of the
.school of John Knox. was natural enough, but certainly did not
deserve so much notice.

42 LETTER III.

that and the water. This was done in the even-
ing, and pretty early in the night we were
alarmed with a dreadful noise of running about,
and calling upon a great number of names, in-
somuch that I concluded the town was on fire.
This brought me suddenly to my window, and
there I was informed that the gravel was running,
and followed by continual successions; and that
the castle would be down before morning.

However, it was prevented ; for the town
masons and soldiers soon run up a dry wall
against the foot of the hill (for stones are every-
where at hand in this country), which furnished
them with the hasty means to prevent its fall.

The bridge is about eighty yards over, and a
piece of good workmanship, consisting of seven
arches, built with stone, and maintained by a
toll of a bodlc, or the sixth part of a penny, for
each foot-passenger with goods; a penny for a
loaded horse, &c.

And here I cannot forbear to give you an in-
stance of the extreme indigence of some of the
country people, by assuring you, I have seen
women with heavy loads, at a distance from the
bridge (the water being low), wade over the
large stones, which are made slippery by the
sulphur, almost up to the middle, at the hazard
of their lives, being desirous to save, or unable
to pay, one single bodle.

LETTER III. 43

From the bridge we have often the diversion
to see the seals pursue the salmon as they come
up the river : they are sometimes within fifty
yards of us ; and one of them came so near the
shore, that a salmon leaped out of the water
for its safety, and the seal, being shot at,
dived ; but before any body could come near,
the fish had thrown itself back again into the
river.

As this amphibious creature, though familiar
to us, may be to you a kind of curiosity, perhaps
you may expect some description of it.

The head at some distance resembles that of
a dog, with his ears cut close ; but when near,
you see it has a long thick snout, a wide mouth,
and the eyes sunk within the head ; and alto-
gether it has a most horrid look, insomuch that

o

if any one were to paint a Gorgon's head, I think
he could not find a more frightful model.

As they swim, the head, which is high above
water, is continually moving from side to side
to discover danger.

The body is horizontally flattish, and covered
with a hairy skin, often finely varied with spots,
as you may see by trunks that are made to keep
out wet. The female has breasts like a woman,
that sometimes appear above water, which
makes some to think it occasioned the fiction of

44 LETTER III.

a mermaid;* and, if so, the mermaid of the
ancients must have been wondrous handsome !
The breast of the male is likewise so resembling
to that of a man, that an officer, seeing one of
them in cutting up, went away, telling me, it
was so like that part of a human body, he could
not stand it, for that was his expression.

Beneath the skin is a deep spongy fat, some-
thing like that of the skinny part of a leg of
mutton ; from this they chiefly draw the oil.

The fins or feet are very near the body,
webbed like a duck, about twelve inches wide,
but in shape very much like the hand of a man :
when they feed as they swim, they stoop the
head down to the fore foot, as I once saw when
one of them had a piece of salmon (I may say)
in its hand, as I was crossing Cromarty Bay.

When they dive, they swim under water, I
think I may say, a quarter of a mile together;
and they dart after their prey with a surprising
velocity, considering their bulk and the element
they divide.

* There is a flattish fish of a very different kind, the upper
part of which bears a distant, but hideous, resemblance to the
human form. It is very rarely met with, but, if I remember
right, there was one exhibited as a show in London, about five
or six and twenty years ago. Those who are acquainted with
the nature and appearance of the seal, will smile at the above
description.

LETTER III. 45

The fishermen take them by intercepting
them in their return to the water, when they
have been sleeping or basking in the sun upon
the shore, and there they knock them down
with their clubs. They tell me, that every
grown seal is worth to them about forty shillings
sterling, which arises from the skin and the oil.

When you happen to be within musket-shot
of them, they are so quick with the eye, that,
at the flash in the pan, they plunge so suddenly,
they are under water before the ball can reach
them.

I have seen ten or fifteen of them, young and
old, in an arm of the sea among the mountains,
which, upon the discovery of our boat, flounced
into the water all at once, from a little rocky
island, near the turn of a point, and raised a
surprising surge round about them.

But as to their being dangerous to the fisher-
men, in throwing stones behind them when
they are pursued, it does well enough for the
volume of a travelling author, who, if he did
not create wonders, or steal them from others,
might have little to say ; but in their scrambling
flight over a beach of loose stones, it is im-
possible but some of them must be removed
and thrown behind them ; and this, no doubt,
has given a hint for the romance. These writers,
for the better sale of their books, depend on

46 LETTER llf.

the reader's love of admiration, the great as-
sistant to credulity.

But, in particular, that those animals, with
their short fins or feet, can wound at a distance,
must certainly be concluded from this false
principle, viz. That a stone may be sent from a
sling of four inches long, with equal force, to
another of as many feet.*

* It is affirmed by the Highlanders, that the seal is fond of
music, and that the bag-pipe is often employed to allure him
within reach of shot; and it is not certain that this is a vulgar
error. — One fine day in August, when the sea was perfectly
calm, being upon Loch Linne in a boat in which was a piper,
and a seal appearing at a distance, going in a different direction,
a Highland gentleman assured the present writer, that he could
immediately recall him, and bring him up in the wake of the
boat. — The boat advanced slowly; the piper played; and the
seal almost immediately changed his course, and followed us for
nearly two miles. The gentleman then ordered the rowers to
push on with all their might for a little space, then rest upon
their oars. The seal swam lustily, and seemed so taken up with
the music, as not to perceive that the boat had stopt, and soon
came so near, that he was fired at, at about half-shot distance.
He dived, and, so far as we could see, did not come to the sur-
face again ; from which it was concluded that he was mortally
wounded, as, in such a case, he is said to dive to the bottom, and
roll himself up in the sea-weed till he died, that the hunter may
not get his skin and blubber!

The sagacity of the seal, its suckling its young at the breast,
and its gruntings and winnings while basking on the rocks before
bad weather, obtain credit to it among the vulgar for many
wonderful qualities which it does not possess. — Most supersli-

LETTER III. 47

Before I leave the bridge, I shall take notice
of one thing more, which is commonly to be
seen by the sides of the river (and not only
here, but in all the parts of Scotland where I
have been), that is, women with their coats
tucked up, stamping, in tubs, upon linen by
way of washing ; and this not only in summer,
but in the hardest frosty weather, when their
legs and feet are almost literally as red as
blood with the cold ; and often two of these
wenches stamp in one tub, supporting them-
selves by their arms thrown over each other's
shoulders.

But what seems to me yet stranger is, as I
have been assured by an English gentlewoman,

tions may be traced to natural causes. A very sensible and worthy
countryman told the present writer, that, when a stripling, in
sauntering about the shore with a fowling-piece, he one day got
very near to a seal that was suckling her young upon a rock.
Perceiving him, she threw the one that was at the teat into the
sea ; but the other being farther off, she scrambled towards it,
and took it up in her mouth, rearing herself on her fins. Being
clumsy and awkward in turning, she held it up in that position
so long, that the idea of a mother pleading mercy for her child
suggested itself so strongly to him, that he fled with horror from
the sp t, and could never after bear to see any one attempt to
hurt a seal. He was not himself credulous; but he confessed
that, when he had told the story to gaping rustics with fowling-
pieces, he always descanted on the maternal affection of the seal,
of which there was no doubt, and left her rationality to be under-
stood.

48 LETTER III.

that they have insisted with her to have the
liberty of washing at the river ; and, as people
pass by, they divert themselves by talking very
freely to them, like our codders, and other
women, employed in the fields and gardens
about London.

What I have said above, relating to their
washing at the river in a hard frost, may require
an explanation, viz. the river Ness, like the lake
from whence it comes, never freezes, from the
great quantity of sulphur with which it is im-
pregnated ; but, on the contrary, will dissolve
the icicles, contracted from other waters, at
the horses' heels, in a very short space of time.

From the Tolbooth, or county gaol, the
greatest part of the murderers and other noto-
rious villains, that have been committed since 1
have been here, have made their escape ; and
I think this has manifestly proceeded from the
furtherance or connivance of the keepers, or ra-
ther their keepers.

When this evil has been complained of, the
excuse was, the prison is a weak old building,
and the town is not in condition to keep it in
repair: but, for my own part, I cannot help
concluding, from many circumstances, that the
greatest part of these escapes have been the
consequence, either of clan-interest or clannish
terror. As for example, if one of the magis-

LETTER III. 49

trates were a Cameron (for the purpose), the
criminal (Cameron) must not suffer, if the clan
be desirous he should be saved. In short, they
have several other ties or attachments one to
another, which occasion (like money in the
south) this partiality.

When any ship in these parts is bound for
the West Indies, to be sure a neighbouring
chief,* of whom none dares openly to com-
plain, has several thieves to send prisoners to
town.

It has been whispered, their crimes were
only asking their dues, and such-like offences ;
and I have been well assured, they have been
threatened with hanging, or at least perpetual
imprisonment, to intimidate and force them to
sign a contract for their banishment, which
they seldom refused to do, as knowing there
would be no want of witnesses against them,
however innocent they were; and then they

* The Scotish barons or lairds, however small their freeholds,
had a title to sit in parliament. In civil matters they could de-
cide questions of debt, and many of possession, within their ba-
ronies, regulate work and wages, and enforce the payment of
their rents : all criminal cases fell under the cognizance of the
laird, except treason and the four pleas of the crown : he had the
power of pit and gallows, or drowning female and hanging male
culprits convicted of theft or robbery; and his jurisdiction com-
prised many penal statutes. — Pinkerton, vol. i. p. 366.

VOL. I. E

50 LETTER III.

were put on board the ship, the master paying
so much a-head for them.*

Thus two purposes were served at once, viz.
the getting rid of troublesome fellows, and
making money of them at the same time : but
these poor wretches never escaped out of prison.

All this I am apt to believe, because I met
with an example, at his own house, which
leaves me no room to doubt it. '

As this chief was walking alone, in his garden,
with his dirk and pistol by his side, and a gun
in his hand (as if he feared to be assassinated),
and, as I was reading in his parlour, there came
to me by stealth (as I soon perceived), a young
fellow, who accosted me with such an accent
as made me conclude he was a native of Mid-
dlesex; and every now and then he turned
about, as if he feared to be observed by any of
the family.

He told me, that when his master was in
London, he had made him promises of great
advantage, if he would serve him as his gen-
tleman ; but, though he had been there two
years, he could not obtain either his wages or
discharge.

* It seems the Scots understood crimping for the plantations
as well as their neighbours; but they gave at least an appearance
of justice to it.

LETTER III. 51

And, says he, when I ask for either of them,
he tells me I know I have robbed him, and no-
thing is more easy for him than to find, among
these Highlanders, abundant evidence against
me (innocent as I am); and then my fate must
be a perpetual gaol or transportation: and there
is no means for me to make my escape, being
here in the midst of his clan, and never suffered
to go far from home.

You will believe I was much affected with
the melancholy circumstance of the poor young
man ; but told him, that my speaking for him
would discover his complaint to me, which
might enrage his master ; and, in that case, I
did not know what might be the consequence
to him.

Then, with a sorrowful look, he left me, and
(as it happened) in very good time.

This chief does not think the present abject
disposition of his clan towards him to be suf-
ficient, but entertains that tyrannical and de-
testable maxim, — that to render them poor, will
double the tie of their obedience ; and accord-
ingly he mak es use of all oppressive means to
that end.

To prevent any diminution of the number of
those who do not offend him, he dissuades from,
their purpose all such as show an inclination to
traffic, or to put their children out to trades,

E 2

52 LETTER I IT.

as knowing they would, by such an alienation,
shake off at least good part of their slavish at-
tachment to him and his family. This he does,
when downright authority fails, by telling
them how their ancestors chose to live spar-
ingly, and be accounted a martial people, rather
than submit themselves to low and mercenary
employments like the Lowlanders, whom their
forefathers always despised for the want of
that warlike temper which they (his vassals)
still retained, &c.

I shall say no more of this chief at present,
because I may have occasion to speak of him
again when 1 come to that part which is pro-
perly called Highlands ; but I cannot so easily
dismiss his maxim, without some little animad-
version upon it.

It may, for aught I know, be suitable to
clannish power ; but, in general, it seems quite
contrary to reason, justice, and nature, that any
one person, from the mere accident of his birth,
should have the prerogative to oppress a whole
community, for the gratification of his own
selfish views and inclinations : and I cannot but
think, the concerted poverty of a people is, of
all oppressions, the strongest instigation to se-
dition, rebellion, and plunder.

The town-hall is a plain building of rubble ;
and there is one room in it, where the magis-

LETTER III. 53

rates meet upon the town business, which
would be tolerably handsome, but the walls are
rough, not white-washed, or so much as plas-
tered ; and no furniture in it but a table, some
bad chairs, and altogether immoderately dirty.

The market-cross is the exchange of the
merchants, and other men of business.

There they stand in the middle of the dirty
street, and are frequently interrupted in their
negociations by horses and carts, which often
separate them one from another in the midst of
their bargains or other affairs. But this is
nothing extraordinary in Scotland ; for it is the
same in other towns, and even at the cross* of
Edinburgh.

* Dunedin's Cross, a pillar'd stone,
Rose on a turret octagon ;
But now is razed that monument,

Wheoce royal edict rang,
And voice of Scotland's law was sent,

In glorious trumpet clang.
O ! be his tomb as lead to lead,
Upon its dull destroyer's head !
A minstrel's malison is said. Marmion.

There is now no cross in the market-place of Edinburgh, except
when, to the great distress and annoyance of the neighbourhood,
a gallows is erected there, which we are assured will never oc-
cur again; but, although a handsome exchange has been built
lor the merchants, they still continue to crowd and incommode the
streets. A few months ago, the magistrates attempted to enforce

54 LETTER Ml.

Over-against the cross is the coffee-house.
A gentleman, who loves company and play,
keeps it ior his diversion ; for so I am told by
the people of the town; but he has con-
descended to complain to me of the little he
gets by his countrymen.

As to a description of the coffee-room, the
furniture, and utensils, I must be excused in
that particular, for it would not be a very de-
cent one ; but I shall venture to tell you in
general, that the room appears as if it had
never been cleaned since the building of the
house ; and, in frost and snow, you might cover
the peat-fire with your hands.

Near the extreme part of the town, toward
the north, there are two churches, one for the
English and the other for the Irish tongue, both
out of repair, and much as clean as the other
churches I have seen.

This puts me in mind of a story I was told
by an English lady, wife of a certain lieutenant-
colonel, who dwelt near a church in the low'-
country on your side Edinburgh. At first

order, and oblige them to repair to the exchange. This alarmed
{he friends of liberty, who, with a spirit every way worthy of
our Athens of the North, persist in asserting their privilege of
transacting business, in all seasons and all weathers, in the street !
What they would do, if the exchange were islmt against them,
it is easy to divine.

LETTER IH. 55

coming to the place, she received a visit from
the minister's wife, who, after some time spent
in ordinary discourse, invited her to come to
kirk the Sunday following. To this the lady
agreed, and kept her word, which produced a
second visit ; and .the minister's wife then asking
her how she liked their way of worship, she
answered — Very well ; but she had found two
great inconveniences there, viz. that she had
dirtied her clothes, and had been pestered with
a great number of fleas. " Now," says the
lady, " if your husband will give me leave to
line the pew, and will let my servant clean it
against every Sunday, I shall go constantly to
church."

" Line the pew !" says the minister's wife :
" troth, madam, I cannot promise for that, for
my husband will think it rank papery."

A little beyond the churches is the church-
yard; where, as is usual in Scotland, the monu-
ments are placed against the wall that encloses
it, because, to admit them into the church,
would be an intolerable ornament.* The in-
scriptions, I think, are much upon a par with
those of our country church-yards, but the mo-
numents are some of them very handsome and
costly. I cannot say much as to the taste, but

* To counterbalance this, they have the good sense not to suf-
fer dead bodies to be buried in their churches.

56 LETTER III.

they have a good deal of ornament about
them.

Even the best sort of street houses, in all the
great towns of the Low country, are, for the
most part, contrived after one manner, with a
stair case without-side,* either round or square,
which leads to each floor, as I mentioned in my
last letter.

By the way, they call a floor a house ; the
whole building is called a land ; an alley, as I
said before, is a.wynde; a little court, or a turn-
again alley, is a doss; a round stair-case, a
turnpike; and a square one goes by the
name of a skale stair. In this town the houses
are so differently modelled, they cannot be
brought under any general description; but
commonly the back part, or one end,| is turned
toward the street, and you pass by it through
a short alley into a little court-yard, to ascend
by stairs above the first story. This lowest
stage of the building has a door toward the
street, and serves for a shop or a warehouse,
but has no communication with the rest.

The houses are for the most part low, be-
cause of the violent flurries of wind which often

* At present, when these are once pulled down, they are
never suffered to be rebuilt.

t This Flemish style of building was common in all the towns
on the Murray Frith, as well as in some parts of South Wales.

LETTER III. 57

pour upon the town from the openings of the
adjacent mountains, and are built with rubble-
stone, as are all the houses in every other town
of Scotland that I have seen, except Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Perth, Stirling, and Aberdeen ;
where some of them are faced with Ashler
stone ; but the four streets of Glasgow, as I
have said before, are so from one end to the
other.

The rubble walls of these houses are com-
posed of stones of different shapes and sizes ;
and many of them, being pebbles, are almost
round, which, in laying them, leave large gaps,
and on the outside they till up those interstices
by driving in flat stones of a small size ; and,
in the end, face the work all over with mortar
thrown against it with a trowel, which they
call ha r ling.

This rough-casting is apt to be damaged by
the weather, and must be sometimes renewed,
otherwise some of the stones will drop out.

It is true, this is not much unlike the way of
building in some remote parts of England ; only
there, the stones are squarer, and more nearly
proportioned one to another : but 1 have been
thus particular, because I have often heard it
said by some of the Scots in London, before I
knew any thing of Scotland, that the houses
were all built with stone, as despising our

,58 LETTER III.

bricks, and concealing the manner and appear-
ance of their buildings.

This gave me a false idea of magnificence,
both as to beauty and expence, by comparing
them in my thoughts with our stone buildings
in the south, which are costly, scarce, and
agreeable to the eye.

The chasms in the inside and middle of these
walls, and the disproportionate quantity of
mortar, by comparison, with the stone, render
them receptacles for prodigious numbers of
rats, which scratch their way from the inside
of the house half through the wall, where they
burrow and breed securely, and by that means
abound every where in the small Scots towns,
especially near the sea. But among the inner
parts of the mountains I never saw or heard of
any such thing, except, upon recollection, in a
part called Coulnakyle, in Strathspey, to which
place I have been told they were brought, in the
year 1723, from a ship, among some London
goods.

They were then thought by the inhabitants
to be a sure presage of good luck ; and so in-
deed they were, for much money followed : but
when those works are at an end, I believe fa-
mine, or another transportation, must be the
fate of the vermin.

I have been credibly informed, that when

LETTER III. 59

the rats have been increased to a great degree
in some small villages, and could hardly subsist,
they have crept into the little horses' manes and
tails (which are always tangled and matted,
being never combed), in order to be transported
to other places, as it were, to plant new colonies,
or to find fresh quarters, less burdened with
numbers. And I was lately told by a country-
man that lives about two miles off, who brought
me a bundle of straw, that having slept in a
stable here, he carried home one of them in his
plaid. But such numbers of them are seen by
the morning twilight in the streets, for water,
after dry weather succeeded by a shower of
rain, as is incredible : and (what at first seemed
strange to me) among them several weasels.
You will certainly say I was distressed for want
of matter, when I dwelt so long upon rats ; but
they are an intolerable nuisance.

The houses of this town' were neither sashed
nor slated before the union, as I have been in-
formed by several old people; and to this day
the ceilings are rarely plastered : nothing but
the single boards serve for floor and ceiling,
and the partitions being often composed of
upright boards only, they are sometimes shrunk,
and any body may not only hear, but see, what
passes in the room adjoining.*

* The hardihood ot'thc Highlanders, in regard to some of their

60 LETTER III.

When first I came to this country, I observed
in the floor of several houses«a good number of
circles of about an inch diameter, and likewise
some round holes of the same size, the mean-
ing of which I did not then understand ; but,
not long after, I discovered the cause of those
inconvenient apertures.

These, in great measure, lay the family be-
low open to those that are above, who, on their
part, are incommoded with the voices of the
others.

The boards, when taken from the saw-mill,
are bored at a good distance from one end of
them, for the conveniency of their way of car-
riage.

domestic acccommodations, is thus described by Mrs. Murray : —
" I found Mr. M'Rae's skilin a miserable hut, on a moor, bare
of every thing but stones. I was obliged to stoop when I en-
tered, and in the inside of it I could scarcely stand upright : its
walls are of loose stones, its roof heath, which slopes to the
stones within four feet of the ground. The floor is full of holes,
and when I was there very wet. It consists of three partitions,
— the entrance, a bed-place, a common room, and a closet behind
the entrance. Planks, ill put together, form these divisions; and
the bed-place having no door to it, Mrs. M'Rae hooked up a blan-
ket to screen me from public view ; but from the eyes of the clo-
setted family I could not be screened, as the planks stood at a con-
siderable distance from each other. The window is about a foot
square, having the ends of the heath in the roof hanging over it,
which almost precludes both light arid air. — Murray s Guide,
vol. ii. p. 432.

LETTER 111. 61

They put a cord (or a woodie * as they call it)
through the holes of several of them, to keep
them flat to the horses' side, and the corners of
the other end drag upon the ground ; but before
these boards are laid in the floor the holes are
filled up with plugs, which they cut away, even
with the surface on each side ; and when these
stop-gaps shrink, they drop out, and are seldom
supplied.

Those houses that are not sashed, have two
shutters that turn upon hinges for the lower
half of the window, and only the upper part is
glazed ; so that there is no seeing any thing in
the street, in bad weather, without great in-
convenience.

Asking the reason of this, I was told that
these people still continue those shutters as an
old custom which was at first occasioned by
danger; for that formerly, in their clan-quarrels,
several had been shot from the opposite side of
the way, when they were in their chambers,
and by these shutters they were concealed and in
safety; but I believe the true reason is, the
saving the expence of glass, for it is the same
in the out-parts of all the towns and cities in
the Low country.

* A woodie, or withie, is a rope made of twisted wands,
such, as were probably once used for hanging people ; for the
woodie means the gallows.

LETTER IV.

WITHOUT any long preface, I shall make this
letter a continuation of the descriptions I have
entered into; but, at the same tinle, am not
without fear that my former was rather dry and
tedious to you, than informing and diverting ;
and this I apprehend the more, because good
part of it was not agreeable to myself.

What I have hitherto said, with respect to the
buildings of this town, relates only to the prin-
cipal part of the streets ; the middling sort of
houses, as in other towns, are very low, and
have generally a close wooden-stair case before
the front. By one end of this you ascend, and
in it above are small round or oval holes, just
big enough for the head to go through ; and in
summer, or when any thing extraordinary hap-
pens in the street to excite the curiosity of the
inhabitants, they look like so many people with
their heads in the pillory.

But the extreme parts of the town are made
up of most miserably low, dirty hovels, faced
and covered with turf, with a bottomless tub, or
basket, in the roof for a chimney.

LETTER IV. C3

The pavement here is very good ; but, as in
other small towns where the streets are narrow,
it is so much rounded, that when it is dry, it is
dangerous to ride, insomuch that horses which
are shod are often falling ; and when it is dirty,
and beginning to dry, it is slippery to the feet,
for in Scotland you walk generally in the middle
of the streets.

I asked the magistrates one day, when the
dirt was almost above one's shoes, why they
suffered the town to be so excessively dirty,
and did not employ people to cleanse the street ?
The answer was, " It will not be long before we
have a shower."

But as to the slipperiness, we have many
principal towns in England paved with small
pebbles, that, going down hill, or along a slope,
are not less dangerous tcrride over, especially
in dry weather.

Some of the houses are marked on the out-
side with the first letters of the owner's name,
and that of his wife if he be a married man.
This is, for the most part, over the uppermost
window; as, for example, CM. MM. Charles
Maclean, Margaret Mackenzie ; for the woman
writes her maiden name after marriage ; and
supposing her to be a widow that has had
several husbands, if she does not choose to con-
tiuue the use of her maiden name, she may

64 LETTER IV.

take the name of either of her deceased hus-
bands, as she thinks fit. This you may be sure
has been the cause of many a joke among our
countrymen, in supposing something extraordi-
nary in that man above the rest, whose name,
after all, she chose to bear.

Within-doors, upon the chimney-piece of one
of the rooms, in some houses, there are likewise
initial letters of the proprietor's name, with a
scrap of their poetry, of which I shall give you
only two instances One of them is as follows :

"16 WMB As with the fire, EMP 94

So with thy God do stand;

Keep not far off,
Nor come thou too near hand."

The other is :

" 16 Christ is my life and rent, 78

His promise is my evident.
LS HF"

The word evident alludes to the owner's title
to the house, the same signifying, in Scotland,
a title-deed.

I had forgot to mention an inscription upon
the outside of one of those houses, viz.

" Our building is not here, but we
Hope for ane better in Christ."

1 was saying in my last letter, that here the

LETTER IV. 65

ground-floors are called warehouses ; they are
so, but they would seem very odd to you under
that denomination.

There is, indeed, a shop up a pair of stairs,
which is kept by three or four merchants in
partnership, and that is pretty well stored with
various sorts of small goods and wares, mostly
from London. This shop is called, by way of
eminence, the warehouse : here (for the purpose)
a hat, which with you would cost thirteen or
fourteen shillings, goes by the established name
of a guinea hat, and other things are much in
the same proportion.*

I remember to have read, in one of the Tat-
lers or Spectators, a piece of ridicule upon the
French vanity, where it is said, that a barber
writes upon his sign, Magazin de Peruques ;
and a cobler upon an old boot, La Botte
Royale, &c.; but I am sorry to say, that, of
late, something of this kind has crept into our
proud metropolis ; for here and there you may
now see an ordinary shop dubbed with the
important title of a warehouse : — this I think is
no good presage.

But to return to the general run of ware-
houses in this town. It is true some of them

* Bonnets were the manufacture and common wear of the
country, and none but gentlemen, clergymen, etc. wore hat?, and
of these very few were wanted.
VOL. J. F

66 LETTER IV.

contain hogsheads of French wines, pieces of
brandy, and other goods that will not be spoiled
by dampness ; but the cargo of others, that I
have happened to see open, have consisted
chiefly of empty casks and bottles, hoops, chalk
(which last is not to be found in this country),
arid other merchandise of like value. On this
side the Tweed many things are aggrandized,
in imitation of their ancient allies (as they call
them), the French.

A pedling shopkeeper, that sells a penny-
worth of thread, is a merchant; the person who
is sent for that thread has received a commission;
and, bringing it to the sender, is making report.
A bill to let you know there is a single room to
be let, is called a placard ; the doors are ports ;
an enclosed field of two acres is spark ; and the
wife of a laird of fifteen pounds a year is a. lady ;
and treated with — your ladyship*

* These are mere matters of dialect, not of vanity, for which
the Scots deserve as little ridicule as the English do, when they
talk of a bailiff, a constable, a duke (in the cradle), or any other
misnamed thing that can be imagined ; or of getting upon the
back of a cart-horse, and carrying- him to grass; — or as a Ger-
man bridegroom does when he sends his English friend a card.
couched in the usual terms of courtesy, to beg he will honour him
with his company on Friday next, to witness his copulation
(bethrothing) with the Fraulein B., and on the Thursday after,
to celebrate his wedding. The term laird is only the northern
form of lord, and means, as in English, a master; more parti-

LETTER IV. 67

I am not unaware it may be objected, with
respect to the word merchant, that in France it
signifies no more than a shopkeeper, or other
small dealer, and that the exporter and im-
porter are called un negotiant ; and it may be said
by these people, they use the word in the same
sense ; but, if that were granted, would it not
be more proper, in correspondence, to make use
of words suited to the acceptation of the country
corresponded to ?

A friend of mine told me, when I was last in
London, that he had received, some time before,
a bill of exchange from this country, directed to

, merchant, in London. You know it

is deemed a kind of affront among real mer-
chants, to be too particularly pointed out in a
direction, as supposing them not well known,
no not even at the Royal Exchange and Post-
office — But, as I was saying, this Scots mer-
chant was sought after for several days upon
'Change, and the Scots Walk in particular, but
nobody knew any thing of him ; till at length,

cularly, the master of a manor. Lady is, by use at least, the
feminine of lord ; but when, in our author's time, contrary to the
usage of the south, the wife of the proprietor of a paltry tenement
was called Lady Caldhame, Lady Hungry Nook, Lady Mid-
dendubs, or whatever her husband's place might be, it was a
matter of convenience entirely, as there were no other decent means
of distinguishing her and her husband from others of the same
clan and name by whom they were surrounded,

F 2

68 LETTER IV.

by mere accident, he was found to lodge up two
pair of stairs, at a little house over against
London Wall.

Would it not have been more reasonable to
have given upon the bill a full direction to his
place of abode (and called him esquire, if his
correspondent pleased), than to send people in
this manner upon a wild-goose chase ?

I will not suppose one part of the design in
it to be the gaining of time before the merchant
could be found out ; but there are evidently
two other reasons for such blind directions,
viz. — they serve to give weight to their bills
at home, and, as they think, an air of im-
portance to their correspondence and country-
men in London; but, in reality, all this serves
but to render the drawer and accepter ridicu-
lous in the end.

I am told once a week that the gentlewoman
that washes my linen is below, and frequently
hear something or other of a gentleman that
keeps a change not far from hence.*' They call

* This was not the language or use of Scotland ; but the Eng-
lish in that country applied such terms in derision, or. as sca-
vengers in a gin-shop call each other gentlemen, and the lower
class of Scots, supposing it to be considered as polite by the
English, imitated their phraseology in speaking to them. Some-
tiling of the kind is still found in Inverness, Fort Augustus, and
Fort William, but they learut it from the garrisons placed among
them.

LETTER IV. <59

an alehouse a change, and think a man of a
good family suffers no diminution of his gen-
tility to keep it, though his house and sale are
too inconsiderable to be mentioned without the
appearance of burlesque.

I was once surprised to see a neighbouring
lord dismount from his horse, take an alehouse-
keeper in his arms, kiss him, and make him as
many compliments as if he had been a brother
peer. I could not help asking his lordship the
meaning of that great familiarity ; and he told
me that my landlord was of as good a family as
any in Scotland, but that the laird his father
had a great many children, and but little to
give them. By the way, in the Lowlands,
where there are some few signs at public-houses,
I have seen written upon several — Mr. Alex-
ander, or Mr. James such-a-one: this is a token
that the man of the house is a gentleman*

* The inhabitants of mountains form distinct races, and are
careful to preserve their genealogies. Men in a small district
necessarily mingle blood by intermarriages, and combine at last
into one family, with a common interest in the honour and dis-
grace of every individual. Then begins that union of affections,
and co-operation of endeavours, that constitute a clan. They
who consider themselves as ennobled by their family, will think
highly of their progenitors; and they who, through successive ge-
nerations, live always together in the same place, will preserve
local stories and hereditary prejudices. Thus every Highlander
can talk of his ancestors, and recount the outrages which they

70 LETTER IV.

either by birth, or that he has taken his master-
of-arts degree at the university.

I shall give you but one more instance of
this kind of gentility.

At a town called Nairne, not far from hence,
an officer who hoped to get a recruit or two
(though contrary to an order to enlist no
Scotsman while the regiment was in Scotland,
because otherwise, in the course of several years,
it might, by mortality,' become almost a Scots
regiment instead of English), — I say, this officer
sent for a piper to play about the town before
the serjeant, as more agreeable to the people
than a drum.

After some time, our landlord came to us,
and, for an introduction, told us the piper was
a very good gentleman, thinking, I suppose,
that otherwise we should not show him due
respect according to his rank. He then went
out, and, returning with him, he introduced our
musician to us, who entered the room, like a
Spaniard, with a grave air and stately step:
at first he seemed to expect we should treat
him according to the custom of the country, by
asking him to sit and take a glass with us ; but
we were not well enough bred for that, and let
him stand, with a disappointed countenance, to

suffered from the wicked inhabitants of the next valley. — John-
son's Journey. Works, vol.viii. 260.

LETTER IV. 71

hear what was to be his employment. This we
partly did, as knowing we had in reserve a
better way of making our court.

In the evening, when he returned with the
serjeant, our landlord made him a kind of
speech before us, telling him (for he came two
miles) that we had sent to him rather than any
other, having heard how excellent he was in
his way, and at the same time stole into his
hand the two shillings that were ordered him
with as much caution as if he had been bribing
at an election, or feeing an attorney-general
before company.

Twas now quite another countenance ; and,
being pleased with his reward (which was
great in this country, being no less than one
pound four shillings), he expressed his grati-
tude by playing a voluntary* on his pipe for
more than half an hour, as he strided backward
and forward, out-side the house, under our
window.

* An Englishman taking Sipiobrach for a voluntary is pleasant
enough. — Those who are not acquainted with that singular and
characteristic species of composition, have now a fair opportunity of
appreciating its merits, as two of the most celebrated piobrachs,
with admirable songs by Mr. Scott, have been subjected, for the
first time, to regular musical notation, by Mr. Campbell, and
published in his valuable collection of Border and Highland Me-
lodies, intitled " Albyn's Anthology."

72 LETTER IV.

Here is gentility in disguise ; — and I am
sorry to say that this kind of vanity in people
of no fortune makes them ridiculous to stran-
gers, and I wish they could divest themselves
of it, and apply to something more substantial
than the airy notion of ancient family, which,
by extending our thoughts, we shall find may
be claimed by all mankind.

But it may be said that this pretension pro-
cures them some respect from those who are
every way their equals, if not superior to them,
except in this particular. This 1 grant, and
there lies the mischief; for by that flattering
conceit, and the respect shown them, they are
brought to be ashamed of honest employments,
which perhaps they want as much or more
than the others, and which might be advanta-
geous to them, their families, and country.

Thus you see a gentleman may be a merce-
nary piper, or keep a little alehouse where he
brews his drink in a kettle ; but to be of any
working trade, however profitable, would be a
disgrace to him, his present relations, and all
his ancestry. If this be not a proper subject of
ridicule, I think there never was any such

But to return to town after my ramble : here
is a melancholy appearance of objects in the
streets; — in one part the poor women, maid-

LETTER IV. 73

servants, and children, in the coldest weather,
in the dirt or in snow, either walking or stand-
ing to talk with one another, without stockings
or shoes. In another place, you see a man
dragging along a half-starved horse little bigger
than an ass, in a cart about the size of a wheel-
barrow. One part of his plaid is wrapt round
his body, and the rest is thrown over his left
shoulder ; and every now and then he turns
himself about, either to adjust his mantle, when
blown off by the wind or fallen by his stoop-
ing, or to thump the poor little horse with a
great stick. The load in his cart, if compact,
might be carried under his arm ; but he must
not bear any burden himself, though his wife
has, perhaps, at the same time, a greater load
on her loins than he has in his cart : — I say
on her loins, for the women carry fish, and
other heavy burdens, in the same manner as
the Scots pedlars carry their packs in England.
The poor men are seldom barefoot in the
town, but wear brogues* a sort of pumps

* In a curious document presented to Henry the Eighth, by
one John Eldar, a clergyman, there is the following singular pas-
sage : u And again in winter, when the frost is most vehement
(as J have said), which we cannot suffer bare-footed, so well as
snow which can never hurt us; when it comes to our girdles we
go a-hunting, and after that we have slain red-deer, we flay oft'
ihe skin by-and-by ; and setting of our bare foot on the inside
thereof, for want of cunning shoemaker* by your Grace's pardon,

74 LETTER IV.

without heels, which keep them little more
from the wet and dirt than if they had none,
but they serve to defend their feet from the
gravel and stones.

They have three several sorts of carts, of
which that species wherein they carry their
peats (being a light kind of loading) is the
largest ; but as they too are very small, their
numbers are sometimes so great, that they fill
up one of the streets (which is the market for
that fuel) in such manner, it is impossible to
pass by them on horseback, and difficult on foot.

It is really provoking to see the idleness and
inhumanity of some of the leaders of this
sort of carts ; for, as they are something higher
than the horse's tail, in the motion they keep
rubbing against it till the hair is worn off, and the
dock quite raw, without any care being taken to
prevent it, or to ease the hurt when discovered.

Some of these carts are led by women, who

we play the coblers, compassing and measuring so much thereof
as shall reach up to our ankles, pricking the upper part thereof
with holes, that the water may repass where it enters, and
stretching it up with a strong thong of the same above our said
ankles. So, and please your noble Grace, we make our shoes.
Therefore we using such manner of shoes, the rough hairy side
outward, in your Grace's dominion of England we be called
rough-footed Scots." — Pinkertoris Scotland, vol. ii. 396.

In the Lowlands of Scotland, the rough-footed Highlanders
were called red-shanks, from the colour of the red-deer hair.

LETTER IV. 75

are generally bare-foot, with a blanket for the
covering of their bodies, and in cold or wet wea-
ther they bring it quite over them. At other
times they wear a piece of linen upon their
heads, made up like a napkin-cap in an inn, only
not tied at top, but hanging down behind.

Instead of ropes for halters and harness,
they generally make use of sticks of birch
twisted and knotted together ; these are called
woodies ; but some few have ropes made of the
manes and tails of their horses, which are
shorn in the spring for that purpose.

The horse-collar and crupper are made of
straw-bands; and, to save the horse's back, they
put under the cart-saddle a parcel of old rags.

Their horses are never dressed or shod, and
appear, as we say, as ragged as colts. In short,
if you were to see the whole equipage, you
would not think it possible for any droll-painter
to invent so perfect a picture of misery.*

If the horse carries any burden upon his
back, a stick of a yard long goes across, under
his tail, for a crupper ; but this I have seen in
prints of the loaded mules in Italy.

* In a country without agriculture, and without roads, harness
is so seldom wanted, that they did not think of encumbering them-
selves with any permanent apparatus of that kind. They pre-
pared it on the spur of the occasion ; and when the work was
done, threw it on the fire ; as they built a dwelling-house, with
the view of throwing it on the dung-hill in four or five years.

76 LETTER IV.

When the carter has had occasion to turn
about one sort of these carts in a narrow place,
I have seen him take up the cart, wheels and
all, and walk round with it, while the poor little
horse has been struggling to keep himself from
being thrown.

The wheels, when new, are about a foot and
half high, but are soon worn very small : they
are made of three pieces of plank, pinned toge-
ther at the edges like the head of a butter-firkin,
and the axletree goes round with the wheel;
which, having some part of the circumference
with the grain and other parts not, it wears
unequally, and in a little time is rather angular
than round, which causes a disagreeable noise
as it moves upon the stones.

I have mentioned these carts, horses, and
drivers, or rather draggers of them, not as im-
mediately relating to the town, but as they in-
crease, in great measure, the wretched appear-
ance in the streets; for these carters, for the
most part, live in huts dispersed in the adjacent
country. There is little need of carts for the

w

business of the town ; and when a hogshead of
wine has been to be carried to any part not very
far distant, it has been placed upon a kind of
frame among four horses, two on a side, follow-
ing each other ; for not far off, except along the
sea-coast and some new road, the ways are so
rough and rocky that no wheel ever turned

LETTER IV. 77

upon them since the formation of this globe ;
and, therefore, if the townsmen were furnished
with sufficient wheel-carriages for goods of great
weight, they would be seldom useful.

The description of these puny vehicles brings
to my memory how I was entertained with the
surprise and amusement of the common people
in this town, when, in the year 1725, a chariot
with six monstrous great horses arrived here,
by way of the sea-coast. An elephant, publicly
exposed in one of the streets of London, could
not have excited greater admiration. One
asked what the chariot was : another, who had
seen the gentleman alight, told the first, with a
sneer at his ignorance, it was a great cart to
carry people in, and such like. But since the
making of some of the roads, I have passed
through them with a friend, and was greatly
delighted to see the Highlanders run from their
huts close to the chariot, and, looking up, bow
with their bonnets to the coachman,* little re-
garding us that were within.

It is not unlikely they looked upon him as a
kind of prime-minister, that guided so important
a machine ; and perhaps they might think that
we were his masters, but had delivered the reins

* The Highlanders are too social, good-humoured, and well-
bred, to pass any stranger without a cordial greeting, and the
same observation applies to the country people in the Lowlands.

78 LETTER IV.

into his hands, and, at that time, had little or
no will of our own, but suffered ourselves to be
conducted by him as he thought fit; and there-
fore their addresses were directed to the minis-
ter, at least in the first place ; for motion would
not allow us to see a second bow, if they were
inclined to make it.

It is a common thing for the poorest sort here-
abouts to lead their horses out in summer, when
they have done their work, and attend them
while they graze by the sides of the roads and
edges of the corn-fields, where there is any little
grass to be had without a trespass ; and gene-
rally they hold them all the while by the halter,
for they are certainly punished if it be known they
encroached ever so little upon a field, of which
none are enclosed. In like manner, you may
see a man tending a single cow for the greatest
part of the day. * In winter the horse is allowed

* The affectionate attention shewn by the family of a cottage to

" dawtil twall pint hawkie,

" That yont the hailan snugly chows her cood,"

is very natural. She is their great benefactress, furnishes their
only luxury, and, living under (he same roof, may almost be said
to be their companion at bed and board. With the cows and few
sheep belonging to a cottager, or small fanner, in the north of Scot-
land, Sunday, during the fine season, is always a festival. The
family rise early in the morning, and take them, as here described,
from one spot of sweet tender grass to another, till church-time.

LETTER IV. 79

no more provender than will barely keep him
alive, and sometimes not even that ; for I have
known almost two hundred of them, near the
town, to die of mere want, within a small com-
pass of time. You will find in another letter
how I came to know their numbers.

Certainly nothing can be more disagreeable
than to see them pass the streets before this
mortality, hanging down their heads, reeling with
weakness; and having spots of their skins, of a
foot diameter, appearing without hair, the effect
of their exceeding poverty : but the mares, in
particular, are yet a more unseemly sight.

When the grass in the season is pretty \vell
grown, the country people cut it, and bring it
green to the town for sale, to feed the horses
that are kept in it; as others likewise do to
Edinburgh, where there is a spacious street,
known by the name of the Grass-market ; and
this is customary in all the parts of the Low
country where I have been, at the time of the
year for that kind of marketing.

During (he day, they are committed to the care of some half-grown
girl, if there be such in the family, who maybe seen, with a New
Testament, Catechism, or other religious book in her hand, in some
small place where the grass is belter, but where time cannot be
spared on a week-day to tend them. — When she goes home in the
evening, she most give an account of what she has read during
the dav.

80 LETTER IV.

Hay is here a rare commodity indeed ; some-
limes there is none at all; and I have had it
brought me forty miles by sea, at the rate of
half-a- crown or three shillings a truss. I have
given twenty-pence for a bundle of straw, not
more than one of our trusses, and oats have
cost me at the rate of four shillings a bushel,
otherwise I must have seen, as we say, my
horses' skins stripped over their ears. But this
is not always the case ; for sometimes, after the
harvest, oats and straw have been pretty rea-
sonable.

A certain officer, soon after his arrival at this
town, observing in what a miserable state the
horses were, and finding his own would cost him
more in keeping than was well consistent with
his pay, shot them. And being asked why he
did not rather choose to sell them, though but
for a small matter, his answer was, they were
old servants and his compassion for them would
not suffer him to let them fall into the hands of
such keepers. And indeed the town horses
are but sparingly fed, as you may believe,
especially when their provender is at such an
extravagant price.

Here are four or five fairs in the year, when
the Highlanders bring their commodities to
market : but, good God ! you could not con-
ceive there was such misery in this island.

LETTER IV. 81

One has under his arm a small roll of linen,
another a piece of coarse plaiding : these are
considerable dealers. But the merchandise of
the greatest part of them is of a most contemp-
tible value, such as these, viz. — two or three
cheeses, of about three or four pounds weight a-
piece ; a kid sold for sixpence or eight-pence
at the most ; a small quantity of butter, in some-
thing that looks like a bladder, and is some-
times set down upon the dirt in the street ;
three or four goat-skins ; a piece of wood for
an axletree to one of the little carts, &c. With
the produce of what each of them sells, they ge-
nerally buy something, viz. — a horn, or wooden
spoon or two, a knife, a wooden platter, and
such-like necessaries for their huts, and carry
home with them little or no money.*

P. S. You may see one eating a large onion
without salt or bread ; another gnawing a car-
rot, &c. These are raities not to be had in
their own parts of the country.

* This is an admirable picture of an Inverness market, the
justice of which may be recognised at this day.- Wooden spoons
are used in Wales and some parts of England, but not in Scot-
land, where the lower class of people use only horn

VOL. I.

I
•

LETTER V.

I ALMOST long for the time when I may ex-
pect your thoughts of my letters relating to
this country, and should not at all be surprised
to find you say, as they do after ten o'clock at
night in the wyndes and closes of Edinburgh,
" • Haud your haunde."

But if that should be the case, I can plead
your injunction and the nature of the subject.

Upon second thoughts, I take it, we are just
even with one another ; for you cannot com-
plain that these letters are not satisfactory, be-
cause I have been only doing the duty of a
friend, by endeavouring to gratify your curi-
osity ; nor can I find any cause of blame in you,
since you could not possibly conceive the con-
sequence of the task you enjoined me. But,
according to my promise, to continue my ac-
count of our Highland fair.

If you would conceive righly of it, you must
imagine you see two or three hundred half-
naked, half-starved creatures of both sexes,
without so much as a smile or any cheerfulness

•

LETTER V. 83

among them, stalking about with goods, such
as I have described, up to their ankles in dirt ;
and at night numbers of them lying together in
stables, or other outhouse hovels that are hardly
any defence against the weather. I am speak-
ing of a winter fair, for in summer the greatest
part of them lie about in the open country.

The gentlemen, magistrates, merchants, and
shopkeepers, are dressed after the English
manner, and make a good appearance enough,
according to their several ranks, and the work-
ing tradesmen are not very ill clothed ; and now
and then, to relieve your eyes yet more from
these frequent scenes of misery, you see some
of their women of fashion : I say sometimes,
for they go seldom abroad ; but, when they ap-
pear, they are generally well dressed in the
English mode.

As I have touched upon the dress of the men,
I shall give you a notable instance of precaution
used by some of them against the tailor's pur-
loining.

This is to buy every thing that goes to the
making of a suit of clothes, even to the stay-
tape and thread ; and when they are to be de-
livered out, they are, all together, weighed
before the tailor's face.

And when he brings home the suit, it is
again put into the scale with the shreds of every

G 2

84 LETTER V.

sort, and it is expected the whole shall answer
the original weight. But I was told in Edin-
burgh of the same kind of circumspection, but
not as a common practice.

The plaid * is the undress of the ladies ; and
to a genteel woman, who adjusts it with a good
air, is a becoming veil. But as I am pretty
sure you never saw one of them in England, I
shall employ a few words to describe it to you.
It is made of silk or fine worsted, chequered
with various lively colours, two breadths wide,
and three yards in length; it is brought over
the head, and may hide or discover the face
according to the wearer's fancy or occasion : it
reaches to the waist behind ; one corner falls as
low as the ankle on one side ; and the other
part, in folds, hangs down from the opposite
arm.

* The plaid is made of fine wool, the thread as fine as can be
made of that kind: it consists of divers colours ; and there is a
great deal of ingenuity required in sorting the colours, so as to be
agreeable to the nicest fancy. For this reason, the women are
at great pains, first, to give an exact pattern of the plaid upon
a piece of wood, having the number of every thread of the stripe
on it. The length of it is commonly seven double ells ; the one
end hangs by the middle over the left arm, the other going round
the body hangs by the end over the left arm also. The right-
hand above it is to be at liberty to do any thing upon occasion.
Every isle differs from each other, in the fancy of making plaids,
as to the stripes in breadth and colours. — Martyris Western
Islands, 208.

LETTER V. 85

I have been told, in Edinburgh, that the ladies
distinguish their political principles, whether
Whig or Tory, by the manner of wearing their
plaids ; — that is, one of the parties reverses the
old fashion, but which of them it is, I do not
remember, nor is it material.

I do assure you we have here, among the
better sort, a full proportion of pretty women,
as indeed there is all over Scotland.* But, pray
remember, I now anticipate the jest, " That
women grow handsomer and handsomer the
longer one continues from home."

The men have more regard to the comeliness
of their posterity, than in those countries where
a large fortune serves to soften the hardest fea-
tures, and even to make the crooked straight ;
and, indeed, their definition of a fine woman
seems chiefly to be directed to that purpose ;
for, after speaking of her face, they say, " She's
a fine, healthy, straight, strong, strapping
lassie. "f

* Ons may live to old age in Scotland without ever seeing a
discoloured tooth in the mouth of a young woman; fine teeth, of
course, make little distinction where all are good : but they
have a common habit of keeping the mouth open, even in towns,
which, to strangers, at first, gives their countenance an appear-
ance of want of expression.

t In the ages of chivalry, bodily strength was so necessary
for a gentleman, that he was obliged to pay attention to the
breed of his children, as well as of his chargers. This is no

86 LETTER V.

I fancy now I hear one of our delicate ladies
say, " Tis just so they would describe a Flan-
der's mare." I am not for confounding the cha-
racters of the two sexes one with another ; but
I should not care to have my son a valetudinary
being, partaking of his mother's nice con-
stitution.

I was once commending, to a lady of fortune
in London, the upright, firm, yet easy manner
of the ladies walking in Edinburgh. And when
I had done, she fluttered her fan, and with a
kind of disdain, mixed with jealousy to hear

them commended, she said, " Mr. , I do

not at all wonder at that, they are used to walk"

My next subject is to be the servants. I
know little remarkable of the men, only that
they are generally great lovers ojf ale ; but my
poor maids, if I may judge of others by what

no longer the case ; but among the poorer sort it must still be
attended to. In this particular, however, there is a wide dif-
ference between the Scots and English. In England, where the
parish is obliged to provide for all who cannot, or will not, pro-
vide for themselves ; when a labourer or mechanic pays his ad-
dresses to a girl of his own rank, the great question is, can he
keep her? — In Scotland, where the poor have no claim but for
charity (to receive which is, happily, in the highest degree hu-
miliating), the consideration is, whether he and she, by their
joint labour and good management, can support and educate a
family ? - Here both the physical and moral advantages are greatly
in favour of Scotland.

LETTER V. 87

passes in my own quarters, have not had the
best of chances, when their lots fell to be born
in this country. It is true they have not a
great deal of household work to do ; but when
that little is done, they are kept to spinning,*
by which some of their mistresses are chiefly
maintained. Sometimes there are two or three
of them in a house of no greater number of
rooms, at the wages of three half-crowns a-
year each, a peck of oatmeal for a week's diet ;
and happy she that can get the skimming of

* This is still the case ; and even in harvest, when the reapers
return from the field, the women are immediately set down to
the linen or woollen spinning-wheel. The consequence of this
salutary habit of constant industry is, that when a poor Eervant-
girl gets a husband, she never thinks her work done, while there
is any thing to do ; spinning is a recreation to her ; and hearing
her little ones, as soon as they can articulate distinctly, stand by her
knee and read to her, is one of her best enjoyments. The English
maid-servant, when she marries, puts her clean cottage fireside
in the neatest possible order, gets breakfast ready, then dresses
herself, as long as she has the means, and is a gentlewoman for the
remainder of the day ; till she and her poor unfed, unclothed, un-
taught children come upon the parish ; while her husband is found
alternately employed in labour (that is galling and irksome to
him because he has no comfort for it at home), in the pothouse,
in the hospital, or work-house. It is a proverbial saying in
Scotland, very creditable to the domestic industry of their house-
wives, that " a woman's work is never done;'1 which is always
used, not as a complaint but encouragement.

88 LETTER V.

a pot to mix with her oatmeal for better com-
mons. To this allowance is added a pair
of shoes or two, for Sundays, when they go
to kirk.

These are such as are kept at board-wages.
In larger families, I suppose, their standing
wages is not much more, because they make
no better appearance than the others. But if
any one of them happens, by the encourage-
ment of some English family, or one more rea-
sonable than ordinary among the natives, to get
clothes something better than the rest, it is ten
to one but envy excites them to tell her to her
face, "she must have been a heure, or she
cou'd n'ere ha getten sic bonny geer."*

All these generally lie in the kitchen, a very
improper place, one would think, for a lodging,
especially of such who have not wherewithal to
keep themselves clean.

They do several sorts of work with their
feet. I have already mentioned their washing
at the river. When they wash a room, which
the English lodgers require to be sometimes
done, they likewise do it with their feet.

First, they spread a wet cloth upon part of
the floor; then, with their coats tucked up,

* What she had not been, she was certainly in a fair way of
becoming, as soon as her English friends left her to shift for herself.

LETTER V. 89

they stand upon the cloth and shuffle it back-
ward and forward with their feet ; then they go
to another part and do the same, till they have
gone all over the room. After this, they wash
the cloth, spread it again, and draw it along in
all places, by turns, till the whole work is
finished. This last operation draws away all
the remaining foul water. 1 have seen this
likewise done at my lodgings, within a quarter
of a mile of Edinburgh.*

When I first saw it, I ordered a mop to be
made, and the girls to be shown the use of it ;
but, as it is said of the Spaniards, there was no
persuading them to change their old method.

I have seen women by the river-side wash-
ing parsnips, turnips, and herbs, in tubs, with
their feet. An English lieutenant-colonel told
me, that about a mile from the town, he saw, at
some little distance, a wench turning and twist-
ing herself about as she stood in a little tub ;
and as he could perceive, being on horseback,
that there was no water in it, he rode up close
to her, and found she was grinding off the beards
and hulls of barley with her naked feet, which
barley, she said, was to make broth withal :f

* This clumsy process is still cortimon.

t The beards she might grind off with her naked feet ; but to
attempt grinding off the husks, would have been like the asp
gnawing the file. Whrn the husks are to be taken off for

90 LETTER V.

and, since that, upon inquiry, I have been told
it is a common thing.

They hardly ever wear shoes, as I said before,
but on a Sunday ; and then, being unused to
them, when they go to church they walk very
awkwardly : or, as we say, like a cat shod with
walnut-shells.

I have seen some of them come out of doors,
early in a morning, with their legs covered up
to the calf with dried dirt, the remains of what
they contracted in the streets the day before : in
short, a stranger might think there was but little
occasion for strict laws against low fornication.

When they go abroad, they wear a blanket over
their heads, as the poor women do, something
like the pictures you may have seen of some
bare-footed order among the Romish priests.

And the same blanket that serves them for a
mantle by day, is made a part of their bedding
at night, which is generally spread upon the
floor : this, I think, they call a shakedown.

I make no doubt you are, long before this,
fully satisfied of the truth of my prediction in
the first letter ; for to make you thoroughly ac-
quainted with these remote parts, you see I

making broth, the grain is moistened, and beaten with a large
wooden mallet, or pestle, in a stone mortar. This is called
knocked bear, to distinguish it from the pearl-barley, which is
done in the miln.

LETTER V. 91

have been reduced to tittle-tattle as low as that
of a gossiping woman : however, as I am in
fort, I must now proceed.

Let those who deride the dirtiness and idle-
ness of these poor creatures, which my country-
men are too apt to do, as 1 observed before; let
them, I say, consider what inclination they can
have to recommend themselves ? What emu-
lation can there proceed from mere despair?
cleanliness is too expensive for their small
wages ; and what inducement can they have,
in such a station, to be diligent and obliging to
those who use them more like negroes than
natives of Britain ?* Besides, it is not any-
thing in nature that renders them more idle and
uncleanly than others, as some would incon-
siderately suggest; because many of them,
when they happen to be transplanted into a
richer soil, grow as good servants as any what-
ever ; and this I have known by experience.

It is a happiness to infancy, especially here,
that it cannot reflect and make comparisons of
its condition ; otherwise how miserable would

* The bond of union between these masters and servants was
of a much more kindly nature than is here supposed ; and their
good-will towards each other very commonly manifested itself
through life, by the most friendly offices of unostentatious and
well-timed benevolence on the one side, and affectionate grati-
tude on the other.

92 LETTER V.

be the children of the poor that one sees con-
tinually in the streets! Their wretched food
makes them look pot-bellied ; they are seldom
washed; and many of them have their hair
clipped, all but a lock that hangs down over the
forehead, like the representation of old Time in
a picture : the boys have nothing but a coarse
kind of vest, buttoned down the back, as if they
were idiots, and that their coats were so made,
to prevent their often stripping themselves
quite naked.

The girls have a piece of blanket wrapped
about their shoulders, and are bare-headed
like the boys ; and both without stockings and
shoes in the hardest of the seasons. But what
seems to me the worst of all is, they are over-
run with the itch, which continues upon them
from year to year, without any care taken to
free them from that loathsome distemper. Nor
indeed is it possible to keep them long from it,
except all could agree, it is so universal among
them ; and, as the children of people in better
circumstances are not nice in the choice of
their companions and play- fellows, they are
most of them likewise infected with this disease;
insomuch that, upon entering a room where
there was a pretty boy or girl that I should
have been pleased to have caressed and played
with (besides the compliment of it to the father

LETTER V. 93

and mother), it has been a great disappoint-
ment to me to discover it could not be done
with safety to myself:* and though the chil-
dren of the upper classes wear shoes and
stockings in winter-time, yet nothing is more
common than to see them bare-foot in the
summer.

I have often been a witness, that when the
father or mother of the lesser children has
ordered their shoes and stockings to be put on,
as soon as ever they had an opportunity they
have pulled them off, which, I suppose, was
done to set their feet at liberty.

From the sight of these children in the streets,
I have heard some reflect, that many a gay
equipage, in other countries, has sprung from a
bonnet and bare feet ; but for my own part, I
think a fortune obtained by worthy actions or
honest industry does real honour to the pos-
sessor ; yet the generality are so far misled by
customary notions, a's to call the founder of an
honourable family an upstart ; and a very un-
worthy descendant is honoured with that esteem
which was withheld from his ancestor. But
what is yet more extraordinary is, that every suc-

* Itch is now hardly known in the Lowlands ; and the use, in
the Highlands, of linen, instead of woollen, for shirting, which
is now become general, will soon banish it from thence also, as
it banished the leprosy, some centuries ago, from all Europe.

94 LETTER V.

cessor grows more honourable with time, though
it be but barely on that account; as if it were an
accepted principle, that a stream must needs
run the clearer the further it is removed from
the fountain-head. But antiquity gives a sanc-
tion to any thing.

1 have little conversation with the inhabitants
of this town, except some few, who are not
comprehended in any thing I have said, or will
be in any thing I am about to say of the gene-
rality.* The coldness between the magistrates
and merchants and myself has arisen from a
shyness in them towards me, and my disin-
clination to any kind of intimacy with them :
and therefore, I think, I may freely mention the
narrow way they are in, without the imputation
of a spy, as some of them foolishly gave out I
was in my absence when last in London.

If I had had any inclination to expose their
proceedings in another place, for they were
public enough here, I might have done it long-
ago, perhaps to my advantage ; but those de-
ceitful, boggy ways lie quite out of my road to
profit or preferment.

Upon my return, I asked some of them how
such a scandalous thought could ever enter into
their heads, since they knew I had little con-

* It is certainly a matter of regret, that he did not speak of
those whom he liked, as well as of those whom he did not like.

LETTER V. 95

versation with them ; and that, on the con-
trary, if I resided here in that infamous capa-
city, I should have endeavoured to insinuate
myself into their confidence, and put them
upon such subjects as would enable me to per-
form my treacherous office ; but that I never so
much as heard there was any concern about
them ; for they were so obscure, I did not re-
member ever to have heard of Inverness till it
was my lot to know it so well as I did ; and,
besides, that nothing could be more public than
the reason of my continuance among them.
This produced a denial of the fact from some,
and in others a mortification, whether real or
feigned is not much my concern.

I shall here take notice, that there is hardly
any circumstance or description I have given
you, but what is known to some one officer or
more of every regiment in Britain, as they have
been quartered here by rotation. And, if there
were occasion, I might appeal to them for a jus-
tification (the interested, excepted) that I have
exaggerated nothing ; and I promise you I shall
pursue the same route throughout all my pro-
gress.

I wish I could say more to the integrity of
our own lower order of shopkeepers, than truth
and justice will allow me to do ; but these, 1

96 LETTER V.

think, are sharper (to use no worse an expression)
in proportion as their temptations are stronger.

Having occasion for some Holland cloth, I sent
to one of these merchants, who brought me two
or three pieces, which 1 just looked upon, and
told him that as I neither understood the quality,
nor knew the price of that sort of goods, I would
make him, as we say, both seller and buyer,
reserving to himself the same profit as he would
take from others. At first he started at the pro-
posal ; and having recollected himself, he said,
" I cannot deal in that manner ;" I asked him
why ? but I could get nothing more from him,
but that it was not their way of dealing.

Upon this, I told him it was apparently his
design to have over-reached me, but that he had
some probity left, which he did not seem to
know of, by refusing my offer; because it car-
ried with it a trust and confidence in his honesty:
and thereupon we parted.*

Since that, I made the same proposal to a mer-
cer in Edinburgh, and was fairly and honestly
dealt with.

But the instances some of these people give

* This is the most unlucky passage in this book. The mer-
cer, whose conduct is very characteristic and spirited, had too
much discernment to put his feelings and reputation in such hands,
and too much good breeding to assign his reasons.

LETTER V. 97

of their distrust one of another, in matters of a
most trifling value, would fill any stranger with
notions very disadvantageous to the credit of
the generality.

I sent one day to a merchant's hard by for
some little thing I wanted; which being brought
me by my servant, he laughed and told me, that
while he was in the shop, there came in the maid-
servant of another merchant with a message
from her master, which was to borrow an ell to
measure a piece of cloth, and to signify that he
had sent a napkin, that is, a handkerchief, as a
pledge for its being returned; that the maid
took the ell, and was going away with it, with-
out leaving the security ; upon which the mer-
chant's wife called out hastily and earnestly to
her for the pawn ; and then the wench pulled
it out of her bosom and gave it to her, not
without some seeming shame for her attempt to
go away with it.

Speaking of an ell measure, brings to my mind
a thing that passed a few weeks ago when I
was present.

An English gentleman sent for a wright, or
carpenter, to make him an ell ; but before the
workman came, he had borrowed one, and offer-
ed it as a pattern. " No, sir," says the man,
" it must not be made by this ; for your's, I sup-

VOL. j. H

08 LETTER V.

pose, is to be for buying, and this is to sell
by."*

I have not myself entirely escaped suspicions
of my honesty ; for sending one day to a shop
for some two-penny business, a groat was de-
manded for it; the two-pence was taken, the
thing was sent, but my boy's cap was detained
for the remaining half of that considerable sum.

It is a common observation with the English,
that when several of these people are in com-
petition for some profitable business or bargain,

* The wholesale dealer used the long, or Flemish, ell of five
quarters, and the retail dealer the English ell of four quarters.
If the nominal price was the same, the retailer's profit arose from
the difference of measure, This was understood by every one,
and had no connection with dishonesty. — In numeration, also, they
had the long score, of 25, and the long hundred, of 125, by
which herrings, haddock, &c. are still sold in some places. This
manner of calculating came to us with our Scandinavian fore-
fathers, by whom it was adopted before the use of letters. They
counted by the fingers of the left hand ; for every five, one was
put apart as a marker ; when the markers amounted to five, they
were put with the others, and made 25 ; and when the long
scores amounted to five, they were put together, and made a long
hundred, or 125. — Without the markers, they made the short
score, &c. This kind of enumeration is still in use among sailors,
who now use a tally instead of the fingers. In the Gaelic.
Latin, &c. the term which signifies 5, originally meant to the
gap (i. e. between the forefinger and the thumb), 1 0, two gaps.
etc. The Roman emblem of this gap was V, and of two gaps.
X, or two Vs put together.

LETTER V. 99

each of them speaks to the disadvantage of Iris
competitors.*

Some time ago, there was occasion to hire
ovens wherewith to bake bread for the soldiery
then encamped near the town. The officer who
had the care of providing those ovens, thought
fit, as the first step towards his agreements, to
talk with several of the candidates separately,
at their own houses, and to see what conve-
niency they had wherewith to perform a con-
tract of that nature. In the course of this
inquiry, he found that every one of them was
speaking not much to the advantage of the rest,
and, in the conclusion, he cried out, " Every
one of these men tells me the others are rogues :
and," added with an oath, " I believe them all."

But, on the other hand, if \ve ask of almost
any one of them, who is quite disinterested, the
character of some working tradesmen, though
the latter be not at all beholden to fame, the
answer to our inquiry will be — " There is not
an honester lad in all Britain."

This is done in order to secure the profit to
their own countrymen; for the soldiers rival
them in many things, especially in handicraft
trades. I take this last to be upon the principle
(for certainly it is one with them) that every

* Would to God one knew the country where this is not the
case .'

H 2

100 LETTER T.

gain they make of the English is an acquisition
to their country.

But I desire I may not be understood to
speak of all in general, for there are several
among them, whom I believe, in spite of edu-
cation, to be very worthy, honest men ; — I say
against education, because I have often obser-
ved, by children of seven or eight years old,
that when they have been asked a question,
they have either given an indirect answer at
first, or considered for a time what answer was
fittest for them to make. And this was not my
observation alone, but that of several others,
upon trial, which made us conclude that such
precaution, at such an age, could not be other
than the effect of precept.*

P. S. I have several times been told, by gen-
tlemen of this country with whom I have con-
tracted acquaintance and friendship, that others-
have said it would have been but just that some
native had had my appointment; and once it
was hinted to me directly. This induced me
to say (for I could not help it), I should readily
agree to it, and cheerfully resign; and would

* This could seldom be the effect of precept ; but there is too
much reason to fear that it was the effect of example. — Andrew
Fairservice has many relations among us; but that character,
drawn with such prov. king fidelity by a Scotsman, shews that the
family is now fallen into disrepute.

LETTER V. 101

further take upon me to answer for all my
countrymen that they should do the same,
provided no Scotsmen had any government
employment be-south the Tweed ; and then I
doubted not but there would be ample room at
home for us all. This I should not have chosen
to say, but it was begged, and I gave it.

LETTER VI.

As I am inclined to give you a taste of every
thing this country affords, I shall now step out
of my way for a little while, to acquaint you,
that the other day, in the evening, I made a visit
to a laird's lady, who is much esteemed for her
wit, and really not without some reason.

After a good deal of tea-table chat, she
brought upon the carpet the subject of her own
sex ; and thence her ladyship proceeded to some
comparisons between the conduct of the English
and Scots women.

She began, in a sort of jeering manner, to tell
me our females are great enemies to dust; which
led me to answer, — It was no wonder, for it
spoiled their furniture, and dirtied their clothes.

In the next place she entertained me with a
parallel between the amours of the English and
and Scots women. The English, she said, often
take liberties after they are married, and seldom
before ; whereas the Scots women, when they
make a trip, it is while they are single, and very
rarclv afterwards : and, indeed, this last is not

LETTER VI. 103

often known, except among those who think
themselves above reputation and scandal.

Now as she had condescended to own that
the Scotish females are frail as well as ours,
though in different circumstances of life, which
was, indeed, an acknowledgment beyond what
1 expected, I could not, for that reason, per-
suade myself to mention another difference,
which is, that the English women are not so well
watched.

There were many other things said upon this
subject which I shall not trouble you with ; but
I must tell you, that this conversation reminds
me of a passage which, perhaps, might other-
wise never have recurred to my memory, or, at
most, would have been little regarded.

One day, when I was in Edinburgh, I walked
out with three married women, whose husbands,
some time after dinner, retired to their respec-
tive avocations or diversions, and left them to
my conduct. As we approached the fields, we
happened to meet a woman with cherries : this
gave me an opportunity to treat the ladies with
some of that fruit; and as we were walking

along, says one of them to me, — " Mr. , there

is a good deal of difference between a married
woman in Scotland and one in England. Here
are now three of us, and I believe I may venture
to say, we could not, all of us together, purchase
one single pound of cherries." You may be sure

104 LETTER VI.

I thought their credit very low at that time, and
I endeavoured to turn it off as an accident ; but
she told me that such kind of vacuities were
pretty general among the married in Scotland ;
and, upon her appeal to the other two, it was
confirmed.*

I have often heard it said by the English,
that the men are not our friends, but I think
the females have no aversion to us ; not that I
fancy our persons are better made, or that we
are more engaging in any respect than their
own countrymen, but from the notion that pre-
vails among them (at least such as I have been
acquainted), viz. that the English are the kind-
est husbands in the world. Perhaps it may be
said, I was their dupe, and did not discover
the sneer at what they may think a too pre-
carious confidence, of which their sex is, with-
out doubt, the most competent judge.

But I have heard some of these ladies first
accuse the English women, and then treat the
chimera with such excessive virulence, that I
have been tempted to suspect it proceeded from
jealousy, not unattended by envy, at that li-
berty which may give opportunities for such

* The house-keeping and marketing being entirely in the hands
of the ladies, it is not easy to conceive how they could have so
little command of money. Even if their husbands audited their
accounts, they must have been wonderfully honest, and unac-
quainted with women's wiles!

LETTER Vf. 105

unfaithfulness ; for otherwise I think it might
have been sufficient, even if the fact were true,
barely to show their dislike of such a perfidious
conduct. And, besides, I cannot say it has not
happened in the world, that the most severe
censure has been changed to a more charitable
opinion from experience of human weakness,
or that such virulence was never used as a
means to excite a conquest. To conclude these
remarks : I think it was not over complaisant
in a stranger, to bring such a general accusa-
tion against his countrywomen ; and if I had
done as much by them it might have been
deemed a national reflection. But to me it would
be a new kind of knight-errantry, to fight with
the gentlewomen in defence of the ladies; and
therefore I contented myself with turning (in
as genteel a manner as I could) their accusation
and parade of virtue into ridicule.

But to return to my general purpose.

The working tradesmen, for the most part,
are indolent, and no wonder, since they have
so little incitement to industry, or profitable
employment to encourage them to it.

If a bolt for a door be wanted, the dweller
often supplies it with one of wood ; and so
of many other things, insomuch that the poor
smith is sometimes hardly enabled to maintain
himself irr-oatmeal.

106 LETTER VI.

The neatness of a carpenter's work is little
regarded. If it will just answer the occasion,
and come very cheap, it is enough. I shall
not trouble you with further instances. But to
show you what they might be, if they had en-
couragement, I shall mention a passage that
related to myself. I sent one day for a wright
(they have no such distinction -as joiner) to make
me an engine to chop straw withal for my
horses ; and told him it must be neatly made,
and I would pay him accordingly ; otherwise
when it was done it would be his own. The
young man, instead of being discouraged by
the danger of losing his time and materials,
was overjoyed at the conditions, and told me,
at the same time, that he should be quite un-
done, if he was long about work which he did
for his countrymen, for in that case they would
not pay him for his time. In fine, he made me
the machine, which was more like the work of
one of your cabinet-makers in London than that
of an Inverness carpenter; and hebroughtit home
in as little time as I could reasonably expect.

Here I may observe, that when a young fellow
finds he has a genius for his trade or business,
and has any thing of spirit, he generally lays
hold of the first occasion to remove to England,*

* The passion for emigration, which, in England, has long
since been proverbial, gave rise to the humorous remark of Dr.

LETTER VI. 107

or some other country, where he hopes for
better encouragement. Hence, I take it, arose
a kind of proverb, That there never came a
fool out of Scotland. Some, perhaps, would be
giving this a different interpretation ; but what
1 mean is, that the cleverest and most sprightly
among them leave the narrow way of their own
country ; and from this may come, for aught I
know, another saying, That they seldom desire
to return home.

This very man of whom I have been speak-
ing took occasion to tell me, that in two or
three months he should go to seek employment
in London.

Johnson, who, being in company with Dr. Goldsmith and some
others, together with the Rev. Mr. Ogilvie, a Scotch gentleman,
the latter very unhappily fell on the topic of praising his country
and its noble prospects : — " Yes, Sir," said Johnson, " you have
many noble wild prospects ; Norway too has noble wild prospects,
and so has Lapland, but I believe the best prospect a Scotchman
ever sees is the high-road to England." This, as might be ex-
pected, produced in the company a roar of applause. — Boswell's
Johnson, vol. i. 405.

This was a standing jest of Johnson's, but he did not sport it
on the occasion specified. It was, however, literally true ;
the badness of the roads in Scotland at that time was one of the
greatest disadvantages the country laboured under; the high-
road to England was almost the only one deserving of the name,
and consequently was a delightful prospect of an improvement in
that way, which has since been carried on to a very comfortable
rxtent.

108 LETTER VI.

The fishermen would not be mentioned, but
for their remarkable laziness ; for they might
find a sale for much more sea-fish than they do,
but so long as any money remains of the last mar-
keting, and until they are driven out by the last
necessity, they will not meddle with salt water.

At low ebb, when their boats lie off at a
considerable distance from the shore, for want
of depth of water, the women tuck up their
garments to an indecent height, and wade
to the vessels, where they receive their loads*
of fish for the market ; and when the whole
cargo is brought to land they take the fishermen
upon their backs, and bring them on shore in
the same manner.

* Most of the labour on shore is performed by the women :
they will carry as much fish as two men can lift on their
shoulders; and, when they have sold their cargo and emptied
their basket, will replace part of it with stones. They go sixteen
miles to sell or barter their fish, are very fond of finery, and will
load their fingers with trumpery rings, when they want both
shoes and stockings. — Pennant's Scotland, vol. i. 147.

The inhabitants of several of the fishing towns on the east
coast of Scotland are descended from Hollanders or Danes, as at
Buckhaven, and still retain, particularly the women, something
of the features, dialect, dress, ornaments, and obsolete usages,
peculiar to their original countries. An admirable delineation of
the character and habits of Scotish fishers will be found in " The
Antiquary." Perhaps this description of people in Scotland, being
less ignorant, are more orderly than in any other country.

LETTER VI. 109

There is here none of that emulation among
the ordinary people, nor any of that pride which
the meanest cottagers in England generally take
in the cleanliness and little ornaments of their
hovels ; yet, at the same time, these poor
wretches entertain a kind of pride which is, I
think, peculiar to themselves,

The officers of a certain regiment kept here a
pack of beagles ; and suspecting some of them
to be in danger of the mange, they sent to the
boatmen to take them out a little way to sea,
and throw them over-board, imagining their
swimming in salt water would cure them of the
distemper, if they were infected. The servant
offered them good hire for their trouble ; but
they gave him bad language, and told him they
would not do it. Upon this, some of the of-
ficers went themselves, and, in hopes to pre-
vail, offered them a double reward ; but they
said they would not, for any money, do a thing
so scandalous as to freight their boats with dogs ;
and absolutely refused it.

The poorest creature that loses a horse by
death, would sell him for three-pence to a
soldier, who made it a part of his business t»
buy them ; and he made not only sixpence of the
carcase to feed the hounds, but got two shillings
or half-a-crown for the hide. But the owner
would not flay the horse, though he knew very

110 LETTER VI.

well how to do it, as almost every one here, and
in the Highlands, is something of a tanner ; and
their reason is, that it is an employment only
Jit for the hangman. Upon this principle, the
soldier was frequently pursued in the streets by
the children, and called by that opprobrious
name.*

Very often, if you ask questions of the ordi-
nary people here and hereabouts, they will
answer you by Haniel Sasson uggit,-\~ i. e. they
have, or speak, no Saxon (or English). This
they do to save the trouble of giving other
answers : but they have been frequently
brought, by the officers, to speak that language
by the same method that Moliere's faggot-bind-
er was forced to confess himself a doctor of
physic.

The lodgings of the ordinary people are in-
deed most miserable ones ; and even those of
some who make a tolerable appearance in the
streets are not much better.

Going along with some company toward one
of the out-parts of the town, I was shown the

* This prejudice is not peculiar to Scotland, being found ail
over Germany and the North of Europe, where a schindcr-
knecht, or carrion-flayer's servant, is considered as a much more
degraded being than a common hangman. Any other person
known to have touched carrion, would be held in abhorrence.

t If these words mean any thing, they mean, " You have no
Saxon !" which they were not likely to say to an Englishman.

LETTER VI. Ill

apartment of a young woman, who looks pretty
smart when abroad, and affects to adorn her
face with a good many patches, but is of no ill
fame.

The door of the house, or rather hut, being
open, and nobody within, I was prevailed with
to enter and observe so great a curiosity. Her
'bed was in one corner of the room upon the
ground, made up with straw,* and even that
in small quantity, and upon it lay a couple of
blankets, which were her covering and that of
two children that lay with her. In the oppo-
site corner was just such another bed for two
young fellows, who lay in the same room.

At another time I happened to be of a party
who had agreed to go five or six and twenty
miles into the Highlands, a small part by land
and the rest by water ; but a person who was
not agreeable to any of us, having, as we say,
pinned himself upon us, and being gone home,
it was resolved that, to avoid him, we should

* " In their houses they lye upon the ground, laying betwixt
them and it brakens, or hadder, the rootes thereof downe and the
tops up, so prettily layed together, that they are as soft as feather-
beds, and much more wholesome ; for the tops themselves are
drye of nature, whereby it dryes the weake humours and restores
againe the strength of the sinews troubled before, and that so
evidently, that they who at evening go to rest sore and weary,
rise in the morning whole and able." — Lord Somer's Tracts,
vol. iii. 388.

112 LETTER VI.

set out at ten o'clock the same night, instead
of the next morning, as was at first intended.
About twelve we arrived at the end of Loch
Ness, where we were to wait for news from
the vessel. We were soon conducted to a house
where lives a brother to the Pretender's fa-
mous brigadier ; and upon entering a large
room, by the candle, we discovered, on different
parts of the floor, nine persons, including chil-
dren, all laid in the manner above described ;
and, among the rest, a young woman, as near as
I could guess about seventeen or eighteen, who,
being surprised at the light and the bustle we
made, between sleeping and waking, threw oft'
part of the blankets, and started up, stared at
us earnestly, and, being stark naked, scratched
herself in several parts till thoroughly wakened.

After all this, I think I need not say any thing
about the lodgings of the meanest sort of people.

I shall not go about to deny, because I would
not willingly be laughed at, that the English
luxury is in every thing carried to an exorbi-
tant height; but if there were here a little of
that vice, it would be well for the lower order
of people, who, by that means, would likewise
mend their commons in proportion to it.

By accounts of the plenty and variety of food
at the tables of the luxurious in England, the
people, who have not eaten with the English,

LETTER VI. 113

conclude they are likewise devourers of great
quantities of victuals at a meal, and at other
times talk of little else besides eating. This is
their notion of us, but particularly of our gor-
mandizing. I shall give you one instance :

Some years ago I obtained the favour and
great conveniency to board, for a time, with
an English gentleman in a house near Edin-
burgh, of which the proprietor retained the up-
permost floor to himself and family.

It seems, by what follows, that this gentle-
man had amused himself sometimesby observing
what passed among us; and being one day in-
vited to our table, after dinner he told us very
frankly, that he had been watching us all the
time we were eating, because he had thought
we must necessarily have large stomachs to
consume the quantity of victuals brought so
often from the market ; but that now he con-
cluded we were as moderate as any.

Thus the wonder had been reciprocal; for
while he was surprised at our plenty (not know-
ing how much was given away),* we were at a

* The habits commonly acquired by the labouring classes before
they commence house-keeping, from the indiscreet liberality of
the English in feeding their servants, are one great cause of the
most intolerable evils with which that country is afflicted ; — the
improvidence, discontent, rancorous impatience, and triumphant
insolence of privileged pauperism.

VOL. I, I

114 LETTER VI.

loss to think how he and his family could sub-
sist upon their slender provision.

For my own part, I never dined in a mixed
company of Scots and English, but I found the
former not only eat as much as the others, but
seemed as well pleased with the delicacy and
diversity of the dishes ; but I shall make no in-
ference from thence.

It is from this notion of the people that my
countrymen, not only here, but all over Scot-
land, are dignified with the title of poke pudding,
which, according to the sense of the word
among the natives, signifies a glutton.

Yet this reproach should not deter me from
giving you an account of our way of living in
this country, that is, of our eating, supposing
every one that charges us with that swinish
vice were to read this letter.

Our principal diet, then, consists of such
things as you in London esteem to be the
greatest rarities, viz. salmon and trout just taken
out of the river, and both very good in their
kind : partridge, grouse, hare, duck, and mal-
lard, woodcocks, snipes, &c. each in its proper
season. And yet for the greatest part of the
year, like the Israelites who longed for the
garlic and onions of Egypt,* we are hankering
after beef, mutton, veal, lamb, &c.

* Here his learning misleads him ; the Israelites knew what

LETTER VI. 115

It is not only me, but every one that comes
hither, is soon disgusted with these kinds of
food, when obliged to eat them often for want
of other fare, which is not seldom our case.

There is hardly any such thing as mutton to
be had till August, or beef till September, — that
is to say, in quality fit to be eaten ; and both
go out about Christmas. And, therefore, at or
about Martinmas (the llth of November), such
of the inhabitants who are any thing before-
hand with the world, salt up a quantity of beef,
as if they were going a voyage. And this is
common in all parts of Scotland where I have
been.*

It would be tedious to set down the price of
every species of provision. I shall only say,
that mutton and beef are about a penny a pound ;
salmon, which was at the same price, is, by a

was what as well as the English; it was the FLESH-POTS of
Egypt that they longed for in the wilderness. Exod. xvi. 3.

* In Scotland formerly, as in England, (while the agriculture
of that country was in an imperfect state), the stock of butcher's
meat for six or seven months was killed and salted about Mar-
tinmas, because there was no due store of provender laid up
for the winter. In the Highlands, where every family must kill
its own meat, this is still, to a certain extent, the case; but
the abundance found in every gentleman's house of game,
poultry, eggs, pastry, and preparations of milk and conserves,
make the market for fresh butcher's meat the less missed.

i2

11G LETTER VI.

late regulation of the magistrates, raised to two-
pence a pound, which is thought by many to be
an exorbitant price. A fowl, which they, in
general, call a hen, may be had at market for
two-pence or two-pence-halfpenny, but so 'lean
they are good for little. It would be too ludi-
crous to say that one of them might almost be
cut up with the breast of another, but they are
so poor, that some used to say they believed the
oats were given them out by tale.

This brings to my remembrance a story I have
heard of a foreigner, who being newly arrived
in this country, at a public house desired some-
thing to eat. A fowl was proposed, and ac-
cepted ; but when it was dressed and brought
to table, the stranger showed a great dislike to
it, which the landlord perceiving, brought him
a piece of fresh salmon, and said, — " Sir, I ob-
serve you do not like the fowl ; pray what do
you think of this ?" — " Think," says the guest,
" why I think it is very fine salmon, and no
wonder, for that is of God Almighty's feeding ;
if it had been fed by you, I suppose it would
have been as lean as this poor fowl, which I de-
sire you will take away."*

* At an entertainment given to James the Sixth, in his pro-
gress to London, it was proposed to his Majesty to eat some
goose in the Cheshire fashion, with boiled groats (shelled oats) ;

LETTER VI. 117

We have, in plenty, variety, and good per-
fection, roots and greens, which you know have
always made a principal part of my luxury.

This, I think, has been chiefly owing to a com-
munication with the English : and I have been
told by old people in Edinburgh, that no longer
ago than forty years, there was little else but
cale in their green-market, which is now plenti-
fully furnished with that sort of provision ; and
I think altogether as good as in London.

Pork is not very common with us, but what
we have is good.

I have often heard it said that the Scots will
not eat it. This may be ranked among the rest
of the prejudices ; for this kind of food is com-
mon in the Lowlands, and Aberdeen, in particu-
lar, is famous for furnishing families with pickled
pork for winter provision, as well as their
shipping.*

I own I never saw any swine among the
mountains, and there is good reason for it:
those people have no offal wherewith to feed

and being asked how he liked it, he said, he should have liked it
much better, if they had given the oats to the poor starved ani-
mal before they killed it. Whoever eats Cheshire goose is sur
to hear this anecdote,

* They had public breweries in Aberdeen, or at least in Gil-
comstown, one of its suburbs, but, till within these few years
there was no such thing any where north of that place.

118 LETTER VI.

them ; and were they to give them other food,
one single sow would devour all the provisions
of a family.

It is here a general notion, that where the
chief declares against pork, his followers affect
to show the same dislike ; but of this affecta-
tion I happened once to see an example.

One of the chiefs, who brought hither with
him a gentleman of his own clan, dined with
several of us at a public-house, where the chief
refused the pork, and the laird did the same ;
but some days afterward, the latter being invited
to our mess, and under no restraint, he ate it
with as good an appetite as any of us alL*

* The aversion of many of the Scots, both in the Highlands and
Lowlands, to eating pork, had nothing superstitious connected
with it. They could not eat fat of any kind, not being accus-
tomed to it ; for when they had well-fed meat, it was always so
over-boiled or over-roasted, that the fat either disappeared alto-
gether, or was rendered too disgusting to be eaten. Yet the
same rustics, who had no objection io fat broth, fat brose, and
haggises so fat as to put even an Englishman to a stand, would
have turned with horror from a suet dumpling. — So much for the
natural prejudice arising from habit !

In some parts of the Highlands, at present (the Braes of
Kannoch, for exampb), pigs may be seen in great numbers,
scattered upon the mountains like sheep. They are small, and
lank as greyhounds ; but when put up in the sty, take on flesh
very fast, and become excellent eating.

Although pigs are now more numerous in Scotland than they
once were, and fare as well as their masters once did, they always

LETTER VI. 119

The little Highland mutton, when fat, is de-
licious, and certainly the greatest of luxuries.
And the small beef, when fresh, is very sweet
and succulent, but it wants that substance
which should preserve it long when salted. I
am speaking of these two sorts of provision ^
when they are well fed ; but the general run of
the market here, and in other places too, is such
as would not be suffered in any part of England
that I know of.

We (the English) have the conveniency of a
public-house (or tavern, if you please), kept by a
countrywoman of our's, where every thing is

made a part of the live stock, as far back as any notices of the
state of the country remain. What this proportion was in some
parts even of the Highlands, nearly three centuries and a half ago,
may be collected from the following authentic record in the " Ada
Dominorum Concilii, p. 273." In 1492, the lords of council
decree and deliver, That Huchone of Ross of Kilrawok and his
son shall restore, content, and pay, to Mr. Alexander Urquhart,
-sheriff of Cromarty, and his tenants, the following items, carried
off by them and their accomplices :

600 cows, price of each .., 13 4

5 score horses, each 26 8

50 score sheep, each 2 0

20 score goats, each 2 0

200 swine, each 3 0

20 score bolls of victual!, each boll 6 8
The above appraisements are inScotish money; but the price of
the grain has been set down as a standard for judging of the value
of the other articles. — As the marauders seem to have swept all

120 LETTER VI,

dressed our own way ; but sometimes it has
been difficult for our landlady to get any thing
for us to eat, except some sort of food so often
reiterated as almost to create a loathing. And
one day I remember she told us there was
nothing at all to be had in the town. This you
may believe was a melancholy declaration to a
parcel of poke puddings ; but, for some relief, a
Highlander soon after happened to bring to town
some of the moor-game to sell, which (in look-
ing out sharp) she secured for our dinner.

Hares and the several kinds of birds above-
mentioned, abound in the neighbouring country

before them in this incursion, even to the household furniture,
(which we could wish had been specified also), this is an interesting
picture of the state of the country, and the proportion and com-
parative value of the different kinds of stock in Rosshire at that
period.

As to the complaisance of a clansman to his chief, there were,
no doubt, sycophants at Castle Brahan and Dunvegan, as well as
at St. James's ; but the instance here adduced proves something
very different. What it is disgusting to eat. it is disgusting to see
others eat ; and the forbearance of the clansman on'y showed his
good breeding. Had the gentlemen of the mess properly under-
stood the rites of hospitality, they would have shown their good
breeding by immediately ordering the offensive article to be re-
moved, in compliment to the feelings of their guests. Their pro-
ducing a second time a dish which they believed to be disagree-
able to a gentleman whom they had invited, showed how little
respect they thought due to the feelings of those among whom they
resided.

LETTER VI. 121

near the town, even to exuberance ; rather
too much, I think, for the sportsman's diver-
sion, who generally likes a little more expec-
tation; so that we never need to want that
sort of provision of what we may kill our-
selves; and, besides, we often make presents of
them to such of the inhabitants who are in
our esteem ; for none of them, that I know of,
will bestow powder and shot upon any of the
game.

It is true, they may sometimes buy a par-
tridge for a penny, or less, and the others in
proportion; — I say sometimes, for there are not
very many brought to market, except in time
of snow, and then indeed I have seen sacks-full
of them.

I remember that the first hard weather after
I came, I asked the magistrates why such poach-
ing was suffered within their district ; and
their answer was, that there was enough of them,
and if they were not brought to market, they
should get none themselves.

The river is not less plentiful in fish. I have
often seen above a hundred large salmon brought
to shore at one haul. Trout is as plenty,and a small
fish the people call a little trout, but of another
species, which is exceedingly good, called in the
north of England a branlin. These are so like
the salmon-fry, that they are hardly to be dis-

122 LETTER VI.

tinguished ; only the scales come off of the fry
in handling, the others have none.

It is, by law, no less than transportation to
take the salmon-fry ; but, in the season, the river
is so full of them that nobody minds it, and
those young fish are so simple the children catch
them with a crooked pin. Yet the townsmen
are of opinion that all such of them as are bred
in the river, and are not devoured at sea by
larger fish, return thither at the proper season;
and, as a proof, they affirm they have taken many
of them, and, by way of experiment, clipped
their tails into a forked figure, like that of a
swallow, and found them with that mark when
full grown and taken out of the cruives.

Eels there are, and very good, but the inhabit-
ants will not eat of them any more than they
will of a pike,* for which reason some of these
last, in the standing lakes, are grown to a mon-
strous size; and, I do assure you, I have eaten
of trouts taken in those waters each of fifteen
or sixteen pounds weight.

* Eels are snakes (in Cheshire and Lancashire they are called
sings')', they delight in mud — the filthier the fatter — and are, at
best, heavy and unwholesome food. The ramper-eel, lamprey,
or nine eyes, is held in abhorrence. Many of the vulgar in Scot-
land believe that lampreys will fix upon people's flesh in the
water, sack their blood, and let it out at the holes in their neck !
The pike is eaten, but has not much to recommend it, indepen-
dant of the cook. Its size is not owing to its age. In the north

LETTER VI. 123

I am surprised the townsmen take no delight
in field-exercises or fishing, in both of which
there is health and diversion, but will rather
choose to spend great part of their time in the
wretched coffee-room, playing at backgammon,
or hazard, mostly for halfpence.

But I must ingenuously confess to you that
they might retaliate this accusation, so far as it
relates to mis-spending of time, if they had but
the opportunity to let you know they have seen
me throwing haddocks' and whitings' heads into
the river from the parapet of the bridge, only to
see the eels turn up their silver bellies in striving
one with another for the prey. At other times
they might tell you they saw me letting feathers
fly in the wind, for the swallows that build under
the arches (which are ribbed within side), to
make their circuits in the air, and contend for
them to carry them to their nests. I have been
jestingly reproached by them, en passant, for
both these amusements, as being too juvenile
for me. This I have returned in their own way,

of Europe, where it meets with as little quarter as it gives, it is
sometimes found of forty-five pounds weight, and upwards. The
undistinguishing verocity of this fresh-water shark, makes it, in
some degree, an object of dislike. The present writer being once
a-fishing for pike in the loch of Spynie, where now there are corn-
fields, another boy hooked a small pike, which was instantly
seized on by a monstrous large one, that allowed himself to be
dragged to land rather than quit his hold.

124 LETTER VI.

by telling them I thought myself at least as well
employed as they, when tumbling over and over
a little cube made out of a bone, and making
every black spot on the faces of it a subject of
their fear and hope. Nor did I think the Empe-
ror Domitian's ordinary diversion was any thing
more manly than mine ; but I think myself, this
instant, much better employed by endeavouring
to contribute to your amusement.

The meanest servants, who are not at board-
wages, will not make a meal upon salmon if
they can get any thing else to eat. 1 have been
told it here, as a very good jest, that a High-
land gentleman, who went to London by sea,
soon after his landing passed by a tavern where
the larder appeared to the street, and operated
so strongly upon his appetite that he went in —
that there were among other things a rump of
beef and some salmon : of the beef he ordered
a steak for himself, " but," says he, " let Dun-
can have some salmon." To be short, the cook
who attended him humoured the jest, and the
master's eating was eight pence, and Duncan's
came to almost as many shillings.*

* Two gentlemen just arrived at a London hotel from Russia,
having heard much of the expence of living in England, when
the bill of fare for supper was presented, determined to be very
economical, and sup upon stewed lampreys, which, in their coun-
try, might be had at a farthing a dozen. Next morning, to their

LETTER VI. 125

I was speaking of provisions in this town
according to the ordinary markets, but their
prices are not always such to us. There are
two or three people, not far from the town, who,
having an eye to our mess, employ themselves
now and then in fattening fowls, and sometimes
a turkey, a lamb, &c. these come very near, if
not quite, as dear as they are in London.

I shall conclude this letter with an incident
which I confess is quite foreign to my present
purpose, but may contribute to my main de-
sign.

Since my last, as I was passing along the
street, I saw a woman sitting with a young
child lying upon her lap, over which she was
crying and lamenting, as in the utmost despair
concerning it. At first I thought it was want,
but found she was come from Fort William, and
that the ministers here had refused to christen
her child, because she did not know who was
the father of it; then she renewed her grief,
and, hanging down her head over the infant,

utter astonishment and dismay, they had to pay more shillings for
their entertainment than they expected to pay pence, even in an
English inn. A good-humoured explanation with the waiter set
all to rights ; but had these gentlemen been too angry for reason-
ing, and immediately returned to Russia, what an impression
must they have carried with them of the exorbitant charges of
inn-keepers in this couutry ?

126 LETTER VI.

she talked to it, as if it must certainly be
damned if it should die without baptism. To
be short, several of us together prevailed to
have the child christened, not that we thought
the infant in danger, but to relieve the mother
from her dreadful apprehensions.

I take this refusal to be partly political, and
used as a means whereby to find out the male
transgressor ; but that knowledge would have
been to little purpose in this case, it being a
regimental child : and, indeed, this was our prin-
cipal argument, for any dispute against the
established rules of the kirk would be deemed
impertinence, if not profaneness.*

* This is a very affecting incident, and highly honourable to all
the parties concerned, not even excepting the poor dissolute va-
grant; had a similar case occurred in an English parish, where a
record of baptism procures a settlement, the gentlemen would
not have found the clergyman and churchwardens so complaisant.

LETTER VII.

THE inhabitants complain loudly that the Eng-
lish, since the Union, have enhanced the rates of
every thing by giving extravagant prices ;* and
I must own, in particular, there has been seven-
pence or eight-pence a pound given by some of
them for beef or mutton that has been well-fed
and brought to them early in the season. But
the towns-people are not so nice in the quality of
these things; and to some the meat is good
enough if it will but serve for soup.

As to their complaint, I would know what
injury it is to the country in general, that
strangers especially are lavish in their expences;
does it not cause a greater circulation of money
among them, and that too brought from distant
places, to which but a very small part of it ever
returns ?

But it is in vain to tell these people that the

* They found claret in Inverness at sixpence a quart, and in
a short time it rose to two shillings ; — had their residence there
quadrupled the riches of the country gentlemen who drank only
claret in that time ?

128 LETTER VII.

extraordinary cheapness of provisions is a cer-
tain token of the poverty of a country ; for that
would insinuate they are gainers by the Union,*'"
which they cannot bear to hear of.

As an instance of the low price of provisions
formerly, I have been told by some old people
that, at the time of the Revolution, General
Mackay was accustomed to dine at one of these
public-houses, where he was served with great
variety, and paid only two shillings and six-
pence Scots, — that is, two-pence-halfpenny for
his ordinary.'}'

* At that time much bad blood had been produced by the
Union, and no advantage had as yet resulted from it to allay the
ferment. A grave people, put under martial law by a foreign
power, could not be expected to be much at their ease, or rery
accommodating to the soldiers and agents stationed among them.

•\ Ordinary, indeed, his fare must have been ! — That a com-
mander in chief should have dined sumptuously for less than the
seventh part of the daily pay of one of his Serjeants, is very im-
probable. Had he lived upon oats, his country food, he must
not only have dined like a horse, but with his horse ; for they
could not have been shelled, boiled, and served up on a clean
table-cloth, for two-pence-halfpenny. Considering the low price
of provisions, however, the pay of Mackay's soldiers was cer-
tainly too great, either for gooJ order or efficient service. The
country was then in a state of ruin and beggary, and full of
able-bodied men who could find neither work nor wages ; yet
such was their distrust and dislike to King William, and their
aversion to his service, that even with the temptation of such
extravagant pay, he had great difficulty in raising men, and

LETTER VII. 129

When I was speaking of game and wild-
fowl in my last letter, it did not occur to me to
have often heard in this country of an old Scot-
ish act of parliament for encouragement to
destroy the green plover, or pewit, which, as
said, is therein called the ungrateful bird ; for
that it came to Scotland to breed, and then re-
little confidence in those who were raised. The following state-
ment is taken from the original in the Register-house of Edin-
burgh, and is dated 1 693 :

Accompt of the pay of a Regiment of Foot consisting of 13
companies, conforme to the establishment with the officers
for ane moneth's space, accompting 28 dayes to the moneth, is

. as followes, viz. —

Sterling Money.

£. *.
Imprimis. To the Viscount of Kenmure as Collonell,

1 2s. ster. per diem, inde per mensem ........ 16 16

Item. To the Lieut. Collonell as such, 7s. per diem, inde 916

It. To the Major as such, 5*. per diem, inde 7 00

It. To the Aid Major as such, 4s. per diem, inde . . 512

It. To the Chirurgeon and Mate, 5s. per diem, inde . . 7 00

It. To the Quarter Mr as such, 4s. per diem, inde . ^. . 512

It. 13 Captaines, each at 8s. per diem, inde 1 54 12

It. 13 Leivetennents, each at 4s. per diem, inde ,. . . 72 16

It. 13 Ensignes, each at 3s. per diem, inde 54 12

It. 39 Corporalls, each at Is. per diem, is 54 12

It. 26 Serjants, each at Is. 6d. per diem, is 54 12

It. 13 Drums, each at Is. per diem, is 18 4

It. 780 Souldiers, each at 6d. per diem, ther being 60

to each companie ; inde, per mensem 546 00

Summa is ....£.998 04
VOL. 1. K

130 LETTER VII.

turned to England with its young to feed the
enemy ; but I never could obtain any satisfac-
tion in this point, although a certain baronet, in
the shire of Ross, who is an advocate, or coun-
sellor-at-law, mentioned it to me at his own
house in that county as a thing certain; and
he seemed then to think he could produce the
act of parliament, or at least the title of it in
one of his catalogues; but he sought a long
while to no purpose, which, as well as my own
reason, made me conclude there was nothing
in it ; though, at the same time, it was matter
of wonder to me that the knight should seem
so positive he could produce evidence of a fact,
and earnestly seek it, which, if found, would
have been an undeniable ridicule upon the le-
gislature of his own country.

What kind of food this bird is I do not know,
for, although I have shot many of them here, I
never made any other use of them than to
pluck off the crown or crest to busk my flies
for fishing, and gave the bird to the next poor
Highlander I met withal ; but perhaps you may
have partaken of this advantage, which was so
much envied by the Scots according to the tra-
dition.*

* The lapwing is a beautiful, lively, active bird, and, being a
harbinger of spring, is always welcome to Scotland; the flesh, in
October, is said to be excellent eating, and the eggs, which are

LETTER VIT. 131

I would, but cannot, forbear to give you, en
passant, a specimen of this Highland baronet's
hospitality at the time above-mentioned.

He had known me both at Inverness and
Edinburgh, and I, being out with an English
officer sporting near his house, proposed to
make him a visit.

After the meeting-compliments were over,
he called for a bottle of wine ; and, when the
glass had once gone about, " Gentlemen," says
he, pretty abruptly, " this wine is not so good
as you drink at Inverness." We assured him it
was, and repeated it several times ; but he still
insisted it was not, took it away himself, and set
a bottle of ale before us in its stead, which we
just tasted out of pure civility : but we were no
losers by this, for the benefit of refreshment by
his wine after fatigue would have been the least
of trifles, compared with the diversion we had

large for its size, are reckoned a great delicacy even in London.
The popular saying respecting it is, that ;c it brings its egg to
Scotland and carries its dung to Ireland," to the bogs of which
country it is supposed to withdraw for the benefit of a milder
winter; and there it may perhaps be called the ungrateful bird.
As it remains with us only during the breeding season it is never
shot at ; and killing such a beautiful bird at that season purely for
exercise, or for the sake of two or three green feathers, was no
a much more elegant amusement than the fly-hunting of Domitian
above-alluded to.

K 2

132 LETTER VII.

in going home, at this — what shall I call it? — this
barefaced 1 don't know what!*

From the provisions of this country it would
be an easy natural transition to the cookery,
but it might be disagreeable ; and it would be
almost endless to tell you what I know and
have heard upon that subject. I do not mean as
to the composition of the dishes, but the unclean-
liness by which they are prepared. But how
should you think it otherwise, when you recol-
lect what has been said of the poor condition of
the female servants ? and what would you think
to have your dinner dressed by one of them ?
I do assure you that, being upon a journey in
these parts, hard eggs have been my only food
for several days successively.

Shall I venture at one only instance of cook-
ery ? I will, and that a recent one, and there-
fore comes first to hand ; but it does not come
up to many others that I know, and are not fit
to be told to any one that has not an immove-
able stomach.

An officer, who arrived here a few days ago
with his wife and son, a boy of about five or six

* This seems to have been a very amusing interview ; and,
in all probability, their host was not the least amused of the
party, especially if he was a Jacobite. — Perhaps he could have
given a very good reason for his change of cheer.

LETTER VII. 133

years old, told me, that, at a house not far distant
from this place, as they were waiting for dinner,
the child, who had been gaping about the kit-
chen, came running into the room and fell a-cry-
ing, of which the mother asking the reason, he
sobbed, and said, " Mamma, don't eat any of
the greens !" This occasioned a further in-
quiry; by which it appeared, the maid had been
wringing the cale with her hands, as if she was
wringing a dish-clout, and was setting it up in
pyramids round the dish by way of ornament,
and that her hands were very dirty, and her
ringers in a lamentable condition with the itch.

Soon after the coleworts were brought to
table just as the child had described their figure
and situation, and the wench's hands convinced
them that his whole complaint was just and
reasonable.

But I would not be thought by this to insi-
nuate that there is nothing but cleanliness in Eng-
land ; for I have heard of foul practices there,
especially by the men-cooks in the kitchens of
persons of distinction ; among whom I was told
by one, that, happening to go into his kitchen,
where he had hardly ever been before, probably
by some information, he observed his cook had
stuck upon the smoky chimney-piece a large
lump of butter, and, (like the pot of pigeons at
Kelso) had raked part of it off with his fingers

134 LETTER Vll.

by handfuls, as he had occasion to throw them
into the saucepan.

We have one great advantage, that makes
amends for many inconveniencies, that is, whole-
some and agreeable drink, — I mean French cla-
ret,* which is to be met with almost every
where in public-houses of any note, except in
the heart of the Highlands, and sometimes even
there ; but the concourse of my countrymen has
raised the price of it considerably. At my first
coming it was but sixteen-pence a bottle, and
now it is raised to two shillings, although there
be no more duty paid upon it now than there was
before, which, indeed, was often none at all.

French brandy, very good, is about three
shillings and six-pence or four shillings a gallon,
but, in quantities, from hovering ships on the
coast, it has been bought for twenty-pence.

Lemons are seldom wanting here; so that
punch, for those that like it, is very reasonable ;
but few care to drink it, as thinking the claret

* While England retained her possessions in Normandy and
the south of France, common danger, and jealousy of her power,
caused a strict and uninterrupted alliance for many centuries be-
tween France and Scotland ; and the Scotish merchants had, by
treaty, the prescriptive privilege of being the first purchasers of
wines in the Fren< h market. — Old habits are not soon eradi-
cated ; and even now, people in Scotland, from whose circum-
stances it would not be expected, treat their friends occasionally
with claret.

LETTER Vli. 133

a much better liquor — in which 1 agree with

them.

There lives in our neighbourhood, at a house

(or castle) called Culloden, a gentleman whose
hospitality is almost without bounds. It is the
custom of that house, at the first visit or intro-
duction, to take up your freedom by cracking
his nut (as he terms it), that is, a cocoa-shell,
which holds a pint filled with champagne, or
such other sort of wine as you shall choose.
You may guess by the introduction, at the con-
tents of the volume. Few go away sober at any
time ; and for the greatest part of his guests, in
the conclusion, they cannot go at all.

This he partly brings about by artfully pro-
posing, after the public healths (which always
imply bumpers) such private ones as he knows
will pique the interest or inclinations of each
particular person of the company, whose turn
it is to take the lead to begin it in a brimmer ;
and he himself being always cheerful, and some-
times saying good things, his guests soon lose
their guard, and then I need say no more.

For my own part, I stipulated with him, upon
the first acquaintance, for the liberty of retiring
when I thought convenient ; and, as perseve-
rance was made a point of honour, that I might
do it without reproach.

As the company are disabled one after ano-

136 LETTER VII.

ther, two servants, who are all the while in
waiting, take up the invalids with short poles in
their chairs, as they sit (if not fallen down),
and carry them to their beds ; and still the hero
holds out.

I remember one evening an English officer,
who has a good deal of humour, feigned himself
drunk, and acted his part so naturally, that it
was difficult to distinguish it from reality ; upon
which the servants were preparing to take him
up and carry him off. He let them alone till •
they had fixed the machine, and then raising
himself up on his feet, made them a sneering
bow, and told them he believed there was no
occasion for their assistance; whereupon one
of them, with sang froid and a serious air, said,
" No matter, sir, we shall have you by and by.3'
This laird keeps a plentiful table, and excellent
wines of various sorts and in great quantities ;
as, indeed, he ought, for I have often said I
thought there was as much wine spib in his hall,
as would content a moderate family.* We gave

* This nut (an encomium upon which will be found in the
*' Culloden Papers," p. 16J), although no fairy gift, had its
virtues, as well as the " Luck of Edenhall" in England, or the
Oldenburgh horn, in Denmark. — " A hogshead of wine was
constantly on tap near the hall-door, for the use of all comers; and
it appears in the account-books of President Forbes, that for nine
months' housekeeping in his family, the wine alone cost a sum
which, at the present price of that article, would amount to up-

LETTER VII. 137

to a hound-puppy that is now pretty well grown,
in honour of him, the name of Bumper: another
we called Nancy, after our most celebrated toast;
so that, shortly, in our eagerest chase we shall

remember love and the bottle You know to

what this alludes.

I think a pack of hounds were never kept
cheaper than here (as you may believe from the
mortality of horses I have already mentioned),
or that there is better hare-hunting in any part
of Britain than hereabouts ; though it be pretty
rough riding in some places, and the ground
mostly hilly. We never go far from the town,
or beat long for the game, or indeed have much
regard to seasons, for none here trouble them-
selves about it ; insomuch that we might hunt
at any time of the year without censure. Yet I
have heard of a gentleman of this country, who
was so scrupulous a sportsman, that when word
was brought him that his servant was drowned

wards of .£.2,000 sterling.'1 Cullod. Papers, p. xxii. — What
must his brother's expences have been?

Servants generally take the tone of their manners from their
masters ; and Forbes of Culloden, was one of the best-bred gentle-
men of his time, which accounts for the English officer being
suffered to walk to bed. In most other country baron's houses,
the servants would have insisted upon the privilege of their office,
whether he was drunk or sober, that " it might never be said, to
the disgrace of their master's hospitality, that any gentleman that
was his guest got to his bed otherwise than by being carried.1'

138 LLTlLil Vli.

in passing a Highland ford, he cried out, " I
thought the fellow would come to an untimely
end — for he shot a hare in her form ! "

In some parts, within less than ten miles of
us, near the coast, the hares are in such numbers
there is but little diversion in hunting, for one
being started soon turns out a fresh one ; then
the pack is divided, and must be called off, &c.
insomuch that a whole day's hunting has been
entirely fruitless. The country people are very
forward to tell us where the maukin is, as they
call a hare, and are pleased to see them destroy-
ed, because they do hurt to their cale-yards.*

Besides the hares, there are numbers of foxes;
but they take to the mountains, which are rocky,
and sometimes inaccessible to the dogs, of
which several have been lost by falling from
precipices in the pursuit; for the fox in his

* The hares in the north of England and in Scotland, are larger
than those in the vicinity of London ; because, the sportsmen say,
the country is more open, and they are obliged to take more
exercise, having further to go for shelter and food. Scotland
was particularly favourable to the hare. In summer and autumn,
they had the corn-fields; and, in winter, the heaths covered with
furze, broom, and juniper, the thorny brakes, dingles, and " bosky
bournes" (which have now given way to the plough), afforded
them shelter, and the cottage cabbage-gardens, protected only by
a low, turf wall, supplied plenty of food. — At present, the exten-
sive plantations of trees, and the clover and turnip fields, are
equally advantageous to them.

LETTER VII. 139

flight takes the most dangerous way. But
when we happen to kill one of them, it is car-
ried home, through the blessings of the people,
like a dangerous captive in a Roman triumph.

In this little town there are no less than four
natural fools. There are hardly any crooked
people (except by accidents), because there has
been no care taken to mend their shapes when
they were young.*

The beggars are numerous, and exceedingly
importunate, for there is no parish allowance
to any.

I have been told that, before the Union, they
never presumed to ask for more than a bodle (or
the sixth part of a penny), but now they beg for
a baubte (or halfpenny). And some of them,
that they may not appear to be ordinary beg-
gars, tell you it is to buy snuff, f Yet still it is

* We have never seen a deformed person among the High-
landers or Russians of the lower class, and none such are found
among savages in any country. The diseases of such people are
mostly of the acute kind; consumptive habits and long-protracted
illness are very rare ; healthy parents always produce a healthy
offspring ; and, in a rude and necessitous state of society, weakly r,
rickety children cannot be reared. Among savages it is never
attempted, because they cannot provide for themselves, and no-
body else can provide for them. A puny, delicate girl hardly ever
gets a husband in the Highlands, because she neither can be the
mother of a vigorous progeny, nor do her part in providing for
them.

t In England, such a person begs something to drink your

140 LETTER VII.

common for the inhabitants (as I have seen in
Edinburgh), when they have none of the small-
est money, to stop in the street, and giving a
halfpenny, take from the beggar a plack, i. e.
two bodies (or the third part of a penny) in
change. Yet, although the beggars frequently
receive so small an alms from their benefactors,
I don't know how it is, but they are generally
shod, when the poor working women go bare-
foot. But here are no idle young fellows and
wenches begging about the streets, as with you
in London, to the disgrace of all order, and, as
the French call it, police. By the way, this po-
lice is still a great office in Scotland ; but, as
they phrase it, is grown into disuetude, though
the salaries remain.

Having mentioned this French word more by
accident than choice, I am tempted (by way of
chat) to make mention likewise of a French-
man who understood a little English.

Soon after his arrival in London, he had ob-
served a good deal of dirt and disorder in the
streets; and asking about the police, but finding
none that understood the term, he cried out —
" Good Lord ! how can one expect order among

honour s health ; in Livonia, the German women beg something
for coffee, which is their chief luxury; and the Lettish women,
something for soap, which seldom fails with a stranger, as their
appearance generally shows how much they stand in need of it.

LETTER VII. 141

these people, who have not such a word as
police in their language !"

By what I have seen, the people here are
something cleaner in their houses than in other
parts of this country where I have been ; yet
I cannot set them up as patterns of cleanliness.

But in mere justice to a laird's lady, my next-
door neighbour, I must tell you that in her per-
son, and every article of her family, there is
not, I believe, a cleaner woman in all Britain;
and there may be others the same, for aught I
know, but I never had the satisfaction to be ac-
quainted with them.

I shall not enter into particulars ; only they
are, for the most part, very cautious of wearing
out their household utensils of metal ; insomuch
that I have sometimes seen a pewter vessel to
drink out of not much unlike in colour to a
leaden pot to preserve tobacco or snuff.

I was one day greatly diverted with the
grievous complaint of a neighbouring woman, of
whom our cook had borrowed a pewter pudding-
pan (for we had then formed a mess in a pri-
vate lodging), and when we had done with it,
and she came for her dish, she was told, by the
servants below stairs, that it should be cleaned,
and then sent home,

This the woman took to be such an intended
injury to her pan, that she cried out — " Lord !

142 LETTER VII.

you'll wear it out !" and then came up stairs to
make her complaint to us, which she did very
earnestly.

We perceived the jest, and gravely told her
it was but reasonable and civil, since it was
borrowed, to send it home clean. This did not
at all content her, and she left us ; but at the
foot of the stairs she peremptorily demanded
her moveable ; and when she found it had been
scoured before it was used, she lost all pa-
tience, saying she had had it fifteen years, and
it never had been scoured before ; and she swore
she would never lend it again to any of our
country. But why not to any? sure the wo-
man in her rage intended that same any as a na-
tional reflection. And, without a jest, I verily
think it was as much so as some words I have
heard over a bottle, from which some wrong-
headed, or rather rancorous, coxcombs have
wrested that malicious inference; though, at
the same time, the affront was not discovered
by any other of the company. But this does
not happen so often with them on this side the
Tweed as in London, where I have known it to
have been done several times, apparently to
raise a querellc cTAllemand.

Not only here, but in other parts of Scotland,
I have heard several common sayings very well
adapted to the inclination of the people to save

LETTER VII. 143

themselves pains and trouble ; as, for one instance,
" A clean kitchen is a token of poor housekeep-
ing." Another is, " If a family remove from a
house, and leave it in a clean condition, the
succeeding tenant will not be fortunate in it."
Now I think it is intended the reverse of both
these proverbs should be understood, viz. That
a foul kitchen is a sign of a plentiful table (by
which one might conclude that some live like
princes) ; and that a dirty house will be an ad-
vantage to him that takes it. But I shall give
you an example of the fallacy of both these
maxims, i. e. from a filthy kitchen without
much cookery, and the new tenant's ill-fortune
to be at the expence of making a dirty house
clean (I cannot say sweet), and paying half-a-
year's rent without having any benefit from it. —
This happened to a friend of mine.

Some few years ago he thought it would be
his lot to continue long in the Lowlands ; and
accordingly he took a house, or floor, within
half a quarter of a mile of Edinburgh, which
was then about to be left by a woman of dis-
tinction ; and it not being thought proper he
should see the several apartments while the
lady was in the house, for he might judge of
them by those beneath, he, immediately after
her removal, went to view his bargain. The

144 LETTER VII.

clean, being rubbed every morning according
to custom ; but the inskies of the corner-cup-
boards, and every other part out of sight, were
in a dirty condition ; but, when he came to the
kitchen, he was not only disgusted at the sight
of it, but sick with the smell, which was in-
tolerable; he could not so much as guess whe-
ther the floor was wood or stone, it was covered
over so deep with accumulated grease and dirt,
mingled together. The drawers under the ta-
ble looked as if they were almost transparent
with grease ; the walls near the servants' table,
which had been white, were almost covered
with snuff spit against it ; and bones of sheeps'
heads lay scattered under the dresser.

His new landlord was, or affected to be, as
much moved with the stench as he himself; yet
the lodging apartment of the two young ladies
adjoined to this odoriferous kitchen.

Well, he hired two women to cleanse this
Augean part, and bought a vast quantity of
sweet-herbs wherewith to rub it every where ;
and yet he could not bear the smell of it a
month afterwards. — Of all this I was myself
a witness.*

* " Muck brings luck." This proverb we now begin to
apply to better purpose in our fields and stable-yards, instead of
our houses. Still a family that enters a house that has been left
by another has not much to boast of the order in which they find

.
LETTER VII. 145

You know very well that a thorough neat-
ness, both in house and person, requires ex-
pence ; and therefore such as are in narrow cir-
cumstances may reasonably plead an excuse for
the want of it ; but when persons of fortune
will suffer their houses to be worse than hog-
styes, I do not see how they differ in that par-
ticular from Hottentots, and they certainly de-
serve a verbal punishment, though 1 could very
willingly have been excused from being the
executioner : but this is only to you ; yet, if it
were made public (reserving names), I think it
might be serviceable to some in whatever part
of this island they may be.

As to myself, I profess I should esteem it as
a favour rather than an offence, that any one

it. This superstition is convenient for such as are not in the habit
of doing any thing of which another is to reap the benefit with-
out sharing in the expence ; and there are still too many of this
sort in Scotland; but, as their means increase, they are improving
fast. — God mend them!

In the days of Henry the Eighth and Queen Elizabeth, in the
palaces and castles of England, the floors of the rooms were
strewed with fresh rushes now and then. The guests, who used
no forks, threw their bones, gristles, and fat (when they met
with a bit), under the table among the rushes, where it lay for
weeks among swarms of toad--, newts, beetles, earwigs, and
fleas! These " golden days," it seems, remained in North
Britain till our author's time — if not in the dining-room and
drawing-room, at least in the kitchen and hall.

VOL. I. L

• •

146 LETTER VII.

would take the trouble to hold up a mirror to
me, in which I could see where to wipe off
those spots that would otherwise render me
ridiculous.

I shall only trouble you with one more of
these saving sayings, which is, " That if the
butter has no hairs in it the cow that gave the
milk will not thrive." But on this occasion I
cannot forbear to tell you, it falls out so a-propos,
that an English gentleman, in his way hither,
had some butter set before him in which were a
great number of hairs;* whereupon he called
to the landlady, desiring she would bring him
some butter upon one plate and the hairs upon
another, and he would mix them himself, for he
thought they were too many in proportion for
the quantity of butter that was before him.

Some of the inns in these remote parts, and
even far south of us, are not very inviting : your
chamber, to which you sometimes enter from
without-doors, by stairs as dirty as the streets,
is so far from having been washed, it has hardly
ever been scraped, and it would be no wonder
if you stumbled over clods of dried dirt in

k Those who have read the genuine and admirable pictures in
" The Cottagers of Glenburnie," will find that the clan of
M'Clarty, although much reduced in numbers and rank, and
under a sort of proscription, is still more powerful among us than
were to be wished.

LETTER VII. 147

going from the fire-side to the bed, under which
there often is lumber and dust that almost fill
up the space between the floor and the bed-
stead.* But it is nauseous to see the walls and
inside of the curtains spotted, as if every one
that had lain there had spit straight forward
in whatever position they lay.

Leonardo da Vinci, a celebrated painter, and
famous for his skill in other arts and sciences,
in a treatise written by himself on the art of
painting, advises those of his profession to con-
template the spots on an old wall, as a means
to revive their latent ideas ; and he tells them
they may thereby create new thoughts, which
might produce something purely original. I
doubt not he meant in the same manner as
people fancy they see heads and other images
in a decaying fire. This precept of his has
sometimes come in my mind when I cast my
eye on the various forms and colours of the
spots I have been speaking of; and a very little

* Where the climate is unkind and the ground penurious, so
that the most fruitful years produce only enough to maintain
themselves, life, unimproved and unadorned, fades into some-
thing little more than naked existence ; every one is busy for
himself, and without attention to those arts by which the pleasure
of others may be increased. — Johnson's Tour, Works, vol.
viii. 378.

L 2

148 LETTER VII.

attention has produced the effect proposed by
the painter.

My landlord comes into the room uninvited,
and, though he never saw you before, sits him-
self down and enters into conversation with
you, and is so sociable as to drink with you ;
and many of them will call, when the bottle is
out, for another ; but, like mine host at Kelso,
few will stir to fetch any thing that is wanting.

This behaviour may have been made, by
custom, familiar to their own countrymen ; but
1 wonder they do not consider that it may be
disagreeable to strangers of any appearance,
who have been used to treat their landlords in
quite another manner,* even permitting an inn-
keeper, worth thousands, to wait at table, and
never show the least uneasiness at his humility ;
but it may be said he was no gentleman.

Pride of family, in mean people, is not pecu-
liar to this country, but is to be met with in
others; and indeed it seems natural to mankind,
when they are not possessed of the goods of
fortune, to pique themselves upon some ima-
ginary advantage. Upon this remark I shall so
far anticipate (by way of postcript) my High-

* The keeper of a poor whiskey hovel in Lochaber could
know very little how strangers treated landlords, except that,
when they came to his hut, he met with less respect from them
than from his neighbours.

LETTER VII. 149

land account as to give you a low occurrence
that happened when I was last among the hills.

A young Highland girl in rags, and only the
bastard daughter of a man very poor and em-
ployed as a labourer, but of a family so old
that, with respect to him and many others,
it was quite worn out. This girl was taken in
by a corporal's wife, to do any dirty work in
an officer's kitchen, and, having been guilty of
some fault or neglect, was treated a little roughly ;
whereupon the neighbouring Highland women
loudly clamoured against the cook, saying,
" What a monster is that to mal-treat a gentle-
man s bairn T and the poor wretch's resentment
was beyond expression upon that very account.*

* If, in those days, the termagant wife of a Highland corporal,
•who could not speak a word of English, had treated a little
roughly the bastard daughter of an English gentleman in reduced
circumstances, in any small country town in England, what
would the women of the place, and and the poor wretch herself ',
have said on that v cry account ? The love of kindied, so ho-
nourable to the Highland character, procures for natural children
in that country a kindness and attention which they do not meet
with elsewhere. A married lady in the Highlands would consi-
der her children as disgraced if their half-brothers and half-sisters
were not suitably provided for in the world ; and, as they come
out first, they not unfrequently fare the best, and are very often,
useful afterwards to the younger branches of the family.

LETTER VIII.

As 1 have, in point of time, till the last post,
been perfectly punctual in this my tattling cor-
respondence, though not so exact in my letters
upon other subjects, you may possibly expect
I should give you a reason for this failure, at
least I am myself inclined to do so.

Several of us (the English) have been, by in-
vitation, to dine with an eminent chief, not
many miles from hence, in the Highlands ; but
I do assure you it was his importunity (the
effect of his interest) and our own curiosity,
more than any particular inclination, that in-
duced us to a compliance.

We set out early in the morning without guide
or interpreter, and passed a pretty wide river,
into the county of Ross, by a boat that we feared
would fall to pieces in the passage. This ex-
cursion was made in order to a short visit on
that side the Murray Frith, and to lengthen
out the way, that we might not be too early
with our noble host.

Our first visit being dispatched, we changed

LETTER VIII. 151

our course, and, as the sailor says, stood directly,
as we thought, for the castle of our inviter ; but
we soon strayed out of our way among the hills,
where there was nothing but heath, bogs, and
stones, and no visible track to direct us, it being
across the country.

In our way we inquired of three several High-
landers, but could get nothing from them but
Haniel Sasson uggit. We named the title of our
chief, and pointed with the finger ; but he was
known to none of them, otherwise than by his
patronymic, which none of us knew at that time.
(I shall have something to say of this word,
when I come to speak of the Highlands in ge-
neral.) But if we had been never so well ac-
quainted with his ancestry name, it would have
stood us in little stead, unless we had known
likewise how to persuade some one of those
men to show us the way. At length we hap-
pened to meet with a gentleman, as I supposed,
because he spoke English, and he told us we-
must go west a piece (though there was no ap-
pearance of the sun), and then incline to the
north; that then we were to go along the side
of a hill, and ascend another (which to us was
then unseen), and from the top of it we should
see the castle.

I should have told you, that in this part of our
peregrination we were upon the borders of the

152 LETTER VIII.

mountains only; and the hills, for the most
part, not much higher than Hampstead or High-
gate.

No sooner had he given us this confused di-
rection, but he skipped over a little bog, that
was very near us, and left us to our perplexed
consultations. However, at last we gained the
height; but when we were there, one of our
company began to curse the Highlander for de-
ceiving us, being prepossessd with the notion
of a castle, and seeing only a house hardly fit
<br one of our farmers of fifty pounds a-year ;
and in the court-yard a parcel of low outhouses,
all built with turf, like other Highland huts.

When we approached this castle, our chief,
with several attendants* (for he had seen us on
the hill), came a little way to meet us; gave us
a welcome, and conducted us into a parlour
pretty well furnished.

After some time, we had notice given us that
dinner was ready in another room ; where we

* " Among other singular customs,'' says Martyn, " every
chieftain had a bold armour-bearer, whose business was always to
attend the person of his master night and day, to prevent any sur-
prize ; and this man was called Galloglach : he had likewise a
double poi tion of meat assigned him at every meal. The measure
of meat usually given him is called to this day bieysir, that is, a
man's portion, meaning thereby an extraordinary man, whose
strength and courage distinguished him from the common sort."- —
Martyn's Western Islands, 104,

LETTER VIII. 153

were no sooner sat down to table, but a band of
music struck up in a little place out of sight,
and continued playing all the time of dinner.

These concealed musicians he would have
had us think were his constant domestics ; but
I saw one of them, some time after dinner, by
mere chance, whereby I knew they were brought
from this town to regale us with more magnifi-
cence.

Our entertainment consisted of a great num-
ber of dishes, at a long table, all brought in under
covers, but almost cold. What the greatest
part of them were I could not tell, nor did I in-
quire, for they were disguised after the French
manner; but there was placed next to me
a dish, which I guessed to be boiled beef; —
I say that was my conjecture, for it was covered
all over with stewed cabbage, like a smothered
rabbit, and over all a deluge of bad butter.

When I had removed some of the encum-
berance, helped myself, and tasted, I found the
pot it was boiled in had given it too high a gout
for my palate, which is always inclined to plain
eating.

I then desired one of the company to help me
to some roasted mutton, which was indeed de-
licious, and therefore served very well for my
share of all this inelegant and ostentatious
plenty.

154 LETTE|l VIII.

We had very good wine, but did not drink
much of it ; but one thing I should have told you
was intolerable, viz. the number of Highlanders
that attended at table, whose feet and foul linen,
or woollen, I don't know which, were more than
a match for the odour of the dishes.

The conversation was greatly engrossed by
the chief, before, at, and after dinner; but I do
not recollect any thing was said that is worth
repeating.

There were, as we went home, several de-
scants upon our feast ; but I remember one of
our company said he had tasted a pie, and that
many a peruke had been baked in a better crust.

When we were returned hither in the even-
ing we supped upon beef- steaks, which some,
who complained they had not made a dinner,
rejoiced over, and called them a luxury.

I make little doubt but, after our noble host
had gratified his ostentation and vanity, , he
cursed us in his heart for the expence, and that
his family must starve for a month to retrieve
the profusion ; for this is according to his known
character.*

* There is little doubt that their noble host was Lord JLovat »
a bad man, but of considerable talents, various and extensive
knowledge of men and things, consummate address, and the most
polished manners, and intimately acquainted with the modes and
usages of courtly life both in France and England. He was

LETTER VIII. 155

Toward the conclusion of my last letter I
gave you some account of the lodging-rooms of
many of the inns in this country, not forgetting
my landlord ; and now I shall descend to the
stables, which are often wretched hovels, and,
instead of straw for litter, are clogged with such
an accumulated quantity of dung, one might
almost think they required another Hercules to
cleanse them.

There is another thing very inconvenient to
the traveller, which I had omitted. He is made
to wait a most unreasonable while for every
thing for which he has occasion. I shall give
you only one instance among a hundred.

pompous and splendid from policy, wishing to enhance the price
of his assumed consequence ; but, like other artificial characters,
he was apt to overdo the part he was acting. It was his study,
at that time, to ingratiate himself with both political parties, par-
ticularly with the friends of government, because he bore them
least good-will ; and no man understood the business of a courtier
better. With his intimate knowledge of the character and ha-
bits of the English, it is not to be imagined that he invited them
to a feast, at which they could find nothing that was fit to be
eaten. Our author dined on delicious mutton ; and had his
companions been entertained by the king of France, or the em-
peror of Germany, they would have made like complaints, and
roared for beef-steaks when they got to their lodgings. If Lo-
vat, at his own table, was not entertaining, it must have been
through the faults of his guests. The real, but ostentatious su-
periority of their host, in addition to his suspected politics, was
probably the true cause of their splenetic jealousy and discontent.

156 LETTER VIII,

At the blair of Athol, benighted, tired, and
hungry, I came to the inn, and was put into a
room without any light; where, knowing the
dilatory way of those people, I sat patiently
waiting for a candle near half an hour; at last,
quite tired with expectation, I called pretty
hastily, and, I must confess, not without anger,
for a light and some wine ; this brought in a
servant maid, who, as usual, cried out, " WhaCs
your will?" I then again told her my wants; but
had no other answer than that her mistress had
the keys, and was at supper, and she could not
be disturbed. Her mistress, it is true, is a gentle-
woman, but before she was married to the stately
beggar who keeps that house she lived in this
town, and was humble enough to draw two-penny.

The two-penny, as they call it, is their com-
mon ale ; the price of it is two-pence for a
Scots pint, which is two quarts.

In sliding thus from the word two-penny to
a description of that liquor, there came to my
memory a ridiculing dissertation upon such
kind of transitions in one of the Tatlers, for
those books I have with me, which, indeed, are
here a good part of my library.

This liquor is disagreeable to those who are
not used to it ; but time and custom will make
almost any thing familiar. The malt, which is
dried with peat, turf, or furzes, gives to the

LETTER VIII. 157

drink a taste of that kind of fuel : it is often
drank before it is cold out of a cap, or coif,* as
they call it: this is a wooden dish, with two
ears or handles, about the size of a tea-saucer,
and as shallow, so that a steady hand is neces-
sary to carry it to the mouth, and, in windy
weather, at the door of a change, 1 have seen
the liquor blown into the drinker's face. This
drink is of itself apt to give a diarrhoea ; and
therefore, when the natives drink plentifully of
it, they interlace it with brandy or usky.

I have been speaking only of the common
ale ; for in some few gentlemen's houses I have
drank as good as I think I ever met with in any
part of England, but not brewed with the malt
of this country-!

The mention of their capacious pint pot,
which they call a stoup, puts me in mind of
part of a dialogue between two footmen, one
English the other Scots.

Says the English fellow, " Ye sorry dog,
your shilling is but a penny." " Aye," says

'

* Coif — quech, in Gael, cuoch, which signifies simply a disk.

t The best malt used in Scotland is still brought from England.
In Scotland and the north of England the crops of barley are
often luxuriant, but, from the moisture of the climate, it pushes
up to straw, and the grain is of inferior quality, and the husk
much thicker than in the south.

158 LETTER VIII.

Sawny, who, it seems, was a lover of ale, " 'tis
true ; but the de'el tak him that has the least
p'mt-stoup"

They tell me, that in Edinburgh and other
great towns, where there are considerable brew-
ings, they put salt into the drink, which makes
it brackish and intoxicating.

The natives of this town speak better Eng-
lish than those of any other part of Scotland,
having learned it originally from the troops in
the time of Oliver Cromwell ;* but the Irish
accent that sometimes attends it is not very
agreeable.

The Irish tongue was, I may say lately, univer-
sal even in many parts of the Lowlands ; and 1
have heard it from several in Edinburgh, that,
before the Union, it was the language of the
shire of Fife, although that county be separated
from the capital only by the Frith of Forth, an
arm of the sea, which from thence is but seven
miles over ; and, as a proof, they told me, after
that event (the Union) it became one condition
of an indenture, when a youth of either sex was
to be bound on the Edinburgh side of the water,

* All over the Highlands people of education speak English
very correctly, because they learn it in the schools, and not in
the nursery. It is book English, somewhat stifl', but free from
provincialisms, vulgarisms, and cant expressions.

LETTER VIII.. 159

that the apprentice should be taught the English
tongue.*

This town is not ill situated for trade, and
very well for a herring- fishery in particular ;
but except the shoals. would be so complaisant
as to steer into some part of the Murray Frith
near them, they may remain in safety from any
attempts of our adventurers : yet, notwithstand-
ing they do not go out to sea themselves, they
are continually complaining of the Dutch, who,
they say, with their vast number of busses, break
and drive the shoals from coming nearer to them.

There was lately a year in which they made
a considerable advantage (I think they say five
or six thousand pounds) from the quantity of
fish, which, as I may say, fell into their mouths ;
but this happens very rarely, and then their
nets and vessels are in a bad condition. Their
excuse is, that they are poor ; and when they
have been asked, Why then does not a greater
number contribute to a stock sufficient to carry
on a fishery effectually ? to this they have an-
swered frankly, that they could not trust one
another.

* Jt is so long since Gaelic was the language of Fifeshire,
that nothing is known concerning it ; but there is no reason to
suppose that in that country they ever used any Celtic dialect
which would have been intelligible to a Highlander or Irishman
during the last five centuries.

160 LETTER VIII.

Some of the honester sort have complained,
that when they had a good quantity of fish to
send abroad (for the sake of the bounty on salt
exported), the herrings have not swam much
thicker in the barrel than they did before in the
sea, and this brought their ships into disrepute
at foreign markets.

I have heard, from good authority, of a piece
ofjinesse that was practised here, which must
have been the product of some very fertile
brain, viz. the screwing of wool into a cask, and
laying over it some pieces of pickled salmon,
separated by a false head, and by that means,
and an oath, obtaining the bounty upon salt ex-
ported, as if the whole was salmon, and at the
same time running the wool ; but to this, the
connivance of the collector of the customs was
necessary.

This fraud (among others) was made a handle
to procure the appointment of an inspector-ge-
neral at the salary of 200 /. per annum, which was
done at the representation and request of a cer-

M of D , who had been, as the cant is,

a good boy for many years, and never asked

for any thing ; but at first the M r made

strong objections to it, as it was to be a new-
created place, which was generally the cause
of clamour, and particularly with respect to
the person proposed, who had formerly been

LETTER VI IT. 161

condemned to be hanged for perjury relating to
the customs, and was a Jacobite. But, in order
to remove all these scruples, the gentleman who
solicited the affair first acknowledged all that to
be true. " But, sir," said he, " the laird is fa-
inilar with the man's wife." — " Nay then," says
the M r, " he must have it."

Not long afterwards, there was information
given that a considerable quantity of wine and
brandy was run, and lodged in a house on the
north side of the Murray Frith, and the new-
made officer applied accordingly for a serjeant
and twelve men to support him in making the
seizure. When he arrived at the place, and had
posted his guard at some small distance from the
house, he went in and declared his business :
whereupon the owner told him, that if he pro-
ceeded further he would ruin him ; for that he
knew of a sum of money he had taken, on the
other side of the water, for his connivance at a
much greater cargo.

Upon this, with guilt and surprise, the custom-
house officer said, " But what must I do with
the soldiers?" — " Nay," says the other, "do you
look to that."

Then he went out, and having mused awhile,
he returned in better spirits, and said, " Now I
have got it! You have fire-arms, I suppose?"
— " Yes," says the other. — " Then do you arm

VOL. T. M

162 LETTER VIII.

yourself and your servants, and come resolutely
to the door, and swear to me that you will all
die upon the spot rather than your house should
be ransacked, unless an authentic warrant be
produced for that purpose."

This was done ; and the officer immediately
fell to fumbling in his pockets, till he had gone
through the whole order of them ; and then,
turning to the serjeant, he cried out, " What an
unfortunate dog am I ! what shall I do ? I have
left my warrant at home !" To conclude : after
all this farce had been well acted, he told the
serjeant there could nothing be done, by reason
of this unlucky accident, but to return to Inver-
ness, giving him half-a-crown, and to each of
the soldiers one shilling.*

Some time ago insurance was the practice,
which the Royal Exchange soon discovered; but

* This story is told of a Jacobite ; but the secret of such a
transaction must have remained exclusively with those who knew
better than to divulge it. The rogue who exported the wool,
perhaps, furnished the hint to those who export cargoes of rum.
&c. from Londpn, in puncheons filled with water, except at the
end where the false bottom is. There are, in all countries, too
many custom-house casuists like the ship-captain, who being re-
proached for an oath which he had just taken, knowing it to be
false, — " What!"' said he, " don't you know that when I got the
command of a ship, T took a solemn oath never to swear truth at
the custom-house, but when it was convenient? — Would you
have me perjure myself?"

LETTER VI II. 163

this imputation was brought upon the town, as I
have been assured, by one single person.

But what am I talking of? I am mentioning
to you four or five illicit dealers, when you can
tell me of great part of our own coast, where
almost all degrees of men are either practis-
ing, encouraging, or conniving at the same ini-
quity.

The principal importation of these parts con-
sists in wines, brandy, tea, silks, &c. which is
no great advantage to those who deal that way,
when their losses by bad debts, seizures, and
other casualties, are taken into the account : and
it is injurious to the community, by exchanging
their money for those commodities which are
consumed among themselves, excepting the
soldiery and a few strangers, who bring their
money with them.

Every now and then, by starts, there have
been agreements made among the landed men, to
banish, as much as in them lay, the use of brandy
in particular. By these contracts they have
promised to confine themselves to their own
growth, and to enjoin the same to their families,
tenants, and other dependants; but, like some
salutary laws made for the public, these reso-
lutions have not been long regarded.

I wish the reformation could be made for the
good of the country (for the evil is universal) ;

M 2

164 LETTER VIII.

but I cannot say I should even be contented it
should extend to the claret, till my time comes
to return to England and humble port, of which,
if I were but only inclined to taste, there is not
one glass to be obtained for love or money, either
here or in any other part of Scotland that has
fallen within my knowledge : but this does not
at all excite my regret. You will say I have
been giving you a pretty picture of patriotism
in miniature, or as it relates to myself.

Sometimes they export pretty handsome
quantities of pickled salmon,* and the money
expended by the troops is a good advantage to
the town and the country hereabouts ; of which
they are so sensible, that, unlike our own coun-
trymen, who think the soldiery a burden, they
have several times solicited for more companies
to be quartered in the town; though, God knows,
most of the quarters are such as, with you,
would hardly be thought good enough for a
favourite dog.

It was but the other day that a grenadier came
to the commanding officer, and begged of him
to take a view of his bed ; and, with tears in
his eyes, told him he had always been a clean
fellow (for those were his words), but here he
could not keep himself free from vermin.

* One nobleman in Scotland is said to derive 10,000/. a year
from his salmon-fisheries alone.

LETTER VIII. 165

As I happened to be present, the officer de-
sired me to go along with him. I did so; and
what the man called a bed proved to be a
little quantity of straw, not enough to keep his
sides from the hardness of the ground, and that
too laid under the stairs, very near the door of
a miserable hovel. And though the magistrates
have often been applied to, and told that the
very meanest among the soldiers had never
been used to such lodging, yet their favourite
town's-people have always been excused, and
these most wretched quarters continued to
them.* And I cannot doubt but this has con-
tributed greatly to the bloody-flux, which
sweeps away so many of them, that, at some
seasons, for a good while together, there has
hardly a day passed but a soldier has been
buried. Thus are they desirous to make their
gains of the poor men without any regard to

* Billets were given upon private housekeepers ; but as those
who could pay so much a-week were excused, the soldiers were
quartered upon such only as had little accommodation for them-
selves. What curses such insolent and profligate guests must
have been, particularly to the female part of the quiet and re-
ligious family of a poor Scotish cottager at that time, may be
easily conceived. And what must their discipline and conduct
in general have been, when our author tells us that the officers
made the natives speak English, by beating them with a
stick ? The bloody-flux is said to be produced by the water of
Inverness upon strangers, particularly English.

166 LETTER VIII.

their ease or their health, which I think is some-
thing to the purpose of a profligate saying I
have heard, — " Give rne the fortune, and let the
devil take the woman!" But when the new
barracks are completed, the soldiers will have
warm quarters, and the town lose great part of
their profit by provision made for them from
more distant parts.

There is one practice among these merchants
which is not only politic but commendable, and
not to be met with every where, which is, that
if a bill of exchange be drawn upon any one of
them, and he fails in cash to make payment in
due time, in that case the rest of them will con-
tribute to it rather than the town should re-
ceive any discredit.

In a former letter I took notice that there are
two churches in this town, one for the English, the
other for the Irish tongue. To these there are
three ministers, each of them, as I am told, at
one hundred pounds a-year.

It is a rule in Scotland, or at least is generally
understood to be so, that none shall have more
than that stipend, cr any less than fifty ; yet I
have been likewise informed, that some of the
ministers* in Edinburgh and other cities make

* The stipend for ministers at the very lowest, should, by act
oi parliament, be eight chalders of victual, or eight hundred
merks Scots ^ and the stipend of the ministers of Edinburgh, til

LETTER VIII. 167

of it near two hundred, but how the addition
arises has not come to my knowledge. What I
shall say of the ministers of this town is, that
they are men of good lives and sober conver-
sation, and less stiff in many indifferent matters
than most of their brethren in other parts of
Scotland ; and, to say the truth, the Scotish cler-
gy (except some rare examples to the contrary)
lead regular and unblamable lives.

What I have further to say on this head shall
be more general, but nothing of this kind can be
applied to all.

The subjects of their sermons are, for the most
part, grace, free-will, predestination, and other
topics hardly ever to be determined : they might
as well talk Hebrew to the common people, and
I think to any body else. But thou shall do no
manner of work they urge with very great suc-
cess. The text relating to Caesar's tribute is
seldom explained, even in places where great
part of the inhabitants live by the contrary of that
example. In England, you know, the minister,
if the people were found to be negligent of their
clothes when they came to church, would re-

of late, two thousand five hundred mcrks: but now it is enacted,
by the town-council of that city, that none who shall hereafter be-
come ministers there, shall have more than two thousand merks,
or one hundred and eleven pounds two shillings and two-pence
sterling. — Chamberlayne s History, part ii. p. 69.

168 LETTER VJ1I.

cotnmend decency and cleanliness, as a mark of
respect due to the place of worship ; and indeed,
humanly speaking, it is so to one another. But,
on the contrary, if a woman, in some parts of
Scotland, should appear at kirk dressed, though
not better than at an ordinary visit, she would
be in danger of a rebuke from the pulpit, and of
being told she ought to purify her soul, and not
employ part of the sabbath in decking out her
body ; and I must needs say, that most of the
females in both parts of the kingdom follow, in
that particular, the instructions of their spiritual
guides religiously.

The minister here in Scotland would have the
ladies come to kirk in their plaids, which hide
any loose dress, and their faces too, if they
would be persuaded, in order to prevent the wan-
dering thoughts of young fellows, and perhaps
some young old ones too ; for the minister
looks upon a well-dressed woman to be an ob~
ject unfit to be seen in the time of divine service,
especially if she be handsome.*

The before-mentioned writer of a " Journey

* This, in the Presbyterian clergy, was mere spirit of
opposition, because, in Roman Catholic times, acts of par-
liament had been made, at the request of the clergy, forbidding
women appearing at church moussaled (muzzled), or muffled up
in veils, &c. as such concealment was sometimes made subser-
vient to intrigues. — How near extremes come to each olhcr I

'•

LETTER VIII, 169

through Scotland," has borrowed a thought
from the Tatler or Spectator, I do not remem-
ber which of them.

Speaking of the ladies' plaids, he says —
" They are striped with green, scarlet, and
other colours, which, in the middle of a church
on a Sunday, look like a parterre dejleurs" In-
stead of striped he should have said chequered,
but that would not so well agree with his
flowers ; and 1 must ask leave to differ from
him in the simile, for at first I thought it a very
odd sight ; and, as to outward appearance,
more fit to be compared with an assembly of
harlequins than a bed of tulips.

But I am told this traveller through Scotland
was not ill paid for his adulatian by the extra-
ordinary call there has been for his last volume.
The other two, which I am -told relate to Eng-
land, I have not seen, nor did I ever hear their
character.

They tell me this book is more common in
this country than I shall say ; and this, in par-
ticular, that I have seen was thumbed in the
opening where the pretty town of Inverness is
mentioned, much more than the book we saw at
a painter's house in Westminster some years
ago; which you will remember (to our diversion)
was immoderately soiled in that important part
where mention was made of himself.

170 LETTER VIII.

O, Flattery! never did any altar smoke with
so much incense as thine ! — thy female votaries
fall down reversed before thee ; the wise, the
great — whole towns, cities, provinces, and king-
doms— receive thy oracles with joy, and even
adore the very priests that serve in thy temples!*

* In addition to what has been said of the livings of the
clergy, it may be added, that every one has a parsonage, garden,
and glebe consisting of a few acres of land. Of the stipends,
the minimum at present is 150/. a-year; the medium, about
2501. which is considerably higher than the medium of church-
livings in England and Wales taken together ; and there is no
maximum. The country clergymen in general, if not ambitious
of public notice, are most at their ease. Few livings exceed 500 L
but North Leith, near Edinburgh, is at present worth about
1,200/. a-year, and will soon be worth considerably more, in con-
sequence of the glebe being feued out for building docks, &c.
From a similar cause, a clergymen in Greenock has about 800 /.
a-year, which, it is said, will soon be nearly doubled.

The widows of clergymen are divided into three classes, who
receive pensions according to the class in which they have been
entered by their husbands; the lowest receive 15/. a-year; the
middle 20 /.; and the highest 251. This arises from a fund esta-
blished by the. clergy themselves, to which each pays so much
a-year. There is also a fluctuating surplus-fund, arising from
other sources, from which a distribution is annually made to each
according to her class ; but none of the highest class have ever,
in any one year, received more than between thirty-six and
thirty-seven pounds.

LETTER IX.

•

1 WISH these ministers would speak oftener,
and sometimes more civilly than they do, of
morality.

To tell the people they may go to hell with
all their morality at their back, — this surely
may insinuate to weak minds, that it is to be
avoided as a kind of sin ; — at best that it will be
of no use to them : and then no wonder they
neglect it, and set their enthusiastic notions of
grace in the place of righteousness. This is in
general ; but I must own, in particular, that one
of the ministers of this town has been so care-
ful of the morals of his congregation that he
earnestly exhorted them, from the pulpit, to fly
from the example of a wicked neighbouring
nation.

Their prayers are often more like narrations
to the Almighty than petitions for what they
want ; and the sough, as it is called (the whine),
is unmanly, and much beneath the dignity of
their subject.

I have heard of one minister so great a pro-

172 LETTER IX.

ficient in this sough, and his notes so remarkably
flat and productive of horror, that a master of
music set them to his fiddle, and the wag used
to say, that in the most jovial company, after
he had played his tune but once over, there was
no more mirth among them all the rest of that
evening than if they were just come out of the
cave of Trophonius.

Their preaching extempore exposes them to
the danger of exhibiting undigested thoughts
and mistakes; as, indeed, it might do to any
others who make long harangues without some
previous study and reflection ; but that some of
them make little preparation, I am apt to con-
clude from their immethodical ramblings.

I shall mention one mistake, — I may call it
an absurdity :

The minister was explaining to his congrega-
tion the great benefits arising from the sabbath.
He told them it was a means of frequently
renewing their covenant, &c. ; and, likewise,
it was a worldly good, as a day of rest for them-
selves, their servants, and cattle. Then he re-
counted to them the different days observed in
other religions, as the seventh day by the Jews,
&c. " But," says he, " behold the particular
wisdom of our institution, in ordaining it to be
kept on the first ; for if it were any other day, it
would make a broken week ! "

LETTER IX. 173

The cant is only approved of by the ignorant
(poor or rich), into whom it instils a kind of
enthusiasm, in moving their passions by sudden
starts of various sounds. They have made of
it a kind of art not easy to attain; but people
of better understanding make a jest of this
drollery, and seem to be highly pleased when
they meet with its contrary. The latter is ma-
nifest to me by their judgment of a sermon
preached at Edinburgh by a Scots minister,
one Mr. Wishart.

Several of us went to hear him, and you
would not have been better pleased in any
church in England.

There was a great number of considerable
people, and never was there a more general
approbation than there was among them at
going from the kirk.

This gentleman, as I was afterwards in-
formed, has set before him Archbishop Tillot-
son for his model ; and, indeed, I could dis-
cover several of that prelate's thoughts in the
sermon.

One of the ministers of this town (an old
man, who died some time ago) undertook one
day to entertain us with a dialogue from the

v *J

pulpit, relating to the fall of man, in the fol-
lowing manner, which cannot so well be con-
veyed in writing as by word of mouth :—

174 LETTER IX.

First he spoke in a low voice " And the

L. G. came into the garden, and said — "

Then loud and angrily " Adam, where

art?"

Low and humbly " Lo, here am I, Lord !"

Violently " And what are ye deeing

there ? "

With a fearful trembling accent " Lord,

I was nacked, and I hid mysel."

Outrageously " Nacked! And what then?

Hast thou eaten, &c/'

Thus he profanely (without thinking so) de-
scribed the omniscient and merciful God in the
character of an angry master, who had not pa-
tience to hear what his poor offending servant
had to say in excuse of his fault. And this
they call speaking in a familiar way to the un-
derstandings of the ordinary people.

But perhaps they think what the famous as-
trologer, Lilly, declared to a gentleman, who
asked him how he thought any man of good
sense would buy his predictions. This ques-
tion started another, which was — What propor-
tion the men of sense bore to those who could
not be called so ? and at last they were reduced
to one in twenty. " Now," says the conjurer,
" let the nineteen buy my prophecies, and
then," snapping his fingers, " that! for your
one man of good sense."

LETTER IX. 175

Not to trouble you with any more particulars
of their oddities from the pulpit, I shall only
say, that, since I have been in this country, I
have heard so many, and of so many, that I
really think there is nothing set down in the
book, called " Scot's Presbyterian Eloquence,"
but what, at least, is probable. But the young
ministers are introducing a manner more decent
and reasonable, which irritates the old stagers
against them; and therefore they begin to
preach at one another.

If you happen to be in company with one or
more of them, and wine, ale, or even a dram is
called for, you must not drink till a long grace
be said over it, unless you could be contented to
be thought irreligious and unmannerly.

Some time after my coming to this country
I had occasion to ride a little way with two mi-
nisters of the kirk ; and, as we were passing
by the door of a change, one of them, the wea-
ther being cold, proposed a dram.

As the alehouse-keeper held it in his hand, I
could not conceive the reason of their bowing
to each other, as pleading by signs to be ex-
cused, without speaking one word.

I could not but think they were contending
who should drink last, and myself, a stranger,
out of the question ; but, in the end, the glass
was forced upon me, and I found the compli-

176 LETTER IX.

merit was which of them should give the pre-
ference to the other of saying grace over the
brandy. For my part, I thought they did not
well consider to whom they were about to make
their address, when they were using all this
ceremony one to another in his presence; and,
to use their own way of argument, concluded
they would not have done it in the presence
at St. James's.*

They seem to me to have but little know-
ledge of men, being restrained from all free
conversation, even in coffee-houses, by the fear

* These peculiarities are now rarely to be met with, except
among Presbyterian seceders, and not always among them, and
among the remnant that is left of the Covenant, called Camero-
nians. These last are mostly of the very lowest class ; but even
their rigour begins to relax; they have discontinued their annual
pilgrimage to the Pentland Hills, to vent their impatience and
rage against their Maker for not " avenging the blood of his
saints upon the posterity of their persecutors ;" they condescend
to preach in houses when the weather is bad; and many of them
have even used fanners to winnow their corn, although that
wicked machine was long anathematized as a daring and impious
invention, suggested by the devil for raising artificial wind of
their own making, in contempt and defiance of Him who made
the wind to blow where it listeth ! — As to the " Presbyterian
.Eloquence," the anecdotes in the first edition were authentic,
and made but a small portion of an immense collection of the same
sort made by the nonjurors, which could not be published on ac-
count of the horrible impieties and indecencies which they con-
ia:ned.

LETTER IX. 177

of scandal, which may be attended with the
loss of their livelihood ; and they are exceed-
ingly strict and severe upon one another in
every thing which, according to their way of
judging, might give offence.

Not long ago, one of them, as I am told, was
suspended for having a shoulder of mutton
roasted on a Sunday morning ; another for
powdering his peruke on that day. Six or
seven years ago, a minister (if my information
be right) was suspended by one of the presby-
teries— The occasion this:

He was to preach at a kirk some little way
within the Highlands, and set out on the Satur-
day; but, in his journey; the rains had swelled
the rivers to such a degree, that a ford which
lay in his way was become impassable.

This obliged him to take up his lodging for
that night at a little hut near the river ; and
getting up early the next morning, he found the
waters just enough abated for him to venture a
passage, which he did with a good deal of ha-
zard, and came to the kirk in good time, where
he found the people assembled and waiting his
arrival.

This riding on horseback of a Sunday was
deemed a great scandal. It is true, that when
this affair was brought, by appeal, before the
general assembly in Edinburgh, his suspension

VOL. I. N

LKTTEIl IX.

was removed, but not without a good many de-
bates on the subject.

Though some things of this kind are carried
too far, yet I cannot but be of opinion, that these
restraints on the conduct of the ministers, which
produce so great regularity among them, contri-
bute much to the respect they meet with from
the people ; for although they have not the ad-
vantage of any outward appearance, by dress,
to strike the imagination, or to distinguish them
from other men who happen to wear black or
dark gray, yet they are, I think 1 may say, ten
times more reverenced than our ministers in
England.

Their severity likewise to the people, for
matters of little consequence, or even for works
of necessity, is sometimes extraordinary.

A poor man who lodged in a little house
where (as I have said) one family may often
hear what is said in another ; this man was
complained of to the minister of the parish by
his next neighbour, that he had talked too freely
to his own wife, and threatened her with such
usage as we may reasonably suppose she would
easily forgive.

In conclusion, the man was sentenced to do
penance for giving scandal to his neighbours: a
pretty subject for a congregation to ruminate
upon !

LETTER TX. 179

The informer's wife, it seems, was utterly
against her husband's making the complaint ;
but it was thought she might have been the in-
nocent occasion of it, by some provoking words
or signs that bore relation to the criminal's of-
fence. This was done not far from Edinburgh.

One of our more northern ministers, whose
parish lies along the coast between Spey and
Findorn, made some fishermen do penance for
sabbath-breaking, in going out to sea, though
purely with endeavour to save a vessel in dis-
tress by a storm.* But behold how inconsistent
with this pious zeal was his practice in a case
relating to his own profit.

Whenever the director of a certain English
undertaking in this country fell short of silver
wherewith to pay a great number of workmen,
and he was therefore obliged on pay-day to
gire gold to be divided among several of them,
then this careful guardian of the sabbath ex-
acted of the poor men a shilling for the change
of every guinea,')' taking that exorbitant advan-
tage of their necessity.

* Had this ever taken place, it would have been contrary to the
most rigid rules of presbyterian discipline in the severest times.
Works of necessity and mercy were never considered as a breach
of the Sabbath in Scotland.

t This was a common trick in country places in the north of
Scotland, as long as guineas were in circulation, under pretence

N 2

180 LETTER IX.

In business, or ordinary conversation, they
are, for the most part, complaisant ; and I may
say, supple, when you talk with them singly ;
— at least I have found them so ; but when col-
lected in a body at a presbytery or synod, they
assume a vast authority, and make the poor
sinner tremble.

Constantly attending ordinances, as they
phrase it, is a means with them of softening vices
into mere frailties; but a person who neglects
the kirk, will find but little quarter.

Some time ago two officers of the army had
transgressed with two sisters at Stirling : one
of these gentlemen seldom failed of going to
kirk, the other never was there. The affair
came to a hearing before a presbytery, and the
result was, that the girl who had the child by
the kirk-goer was an impudent baggage, and
deserved to be whipped out of town for se-
ducing an honest man ; and that he who never
went to kirk, was an abandoned wretch for de-
bauching her sister.

Whether the ordinary people have a notion
that when so many holy men meet together
upon any occasion, the evil spirits are thereby
provoked to be mischievous, or what their

that the guinea might be light, and they had no scales to weigh it.
The change being from the weekly collections for the poor, it is
to be hoped that they were the gainers.

LETTER IX. 181

whimsical fancy is I cannot tell, but it is with
them a common saying, that when the clergy
assemble the day is certainly tempestuous.*

If my countrymen's division of the year were
just, there would always be a great chance for
it without any supernatural cause ; for they say,
in these northern parts, the year is composed of
nine months winter and thre.e months bad wea-
ther; but I cannot fully agree with them in
their observation, though, as I have said before,
the neighbouring mountains frequently convey
to us such winds as may not improperly be
called tempests.

In one of my journeys hither, I observed, at
the first stage on this side Berwick, a good deal
of scribbling upon a window ; and, among the
rest, the following lines, viz.

Scotland ! thy weather's like a modish wife,
Thy winds and rains for ever are at strife ;
So termagant, awhile her bluster tries,
And when she can no longer scold — she cries I

A, H,

By the two initial letters of a name, I soon

* This sneer at the clergy is not peculiar to Scotland. Every
one wlio has been at sea knows what an aversion sailors have to
a parson as a passenger. If bad weather comes, he is sure to
be considered as the Jonas, who ought to be sacrificed to the
winds. They have, for the same reason, an aversion to a corpse
on board.

182 LETTER IX.

concluded it was your neighbour, Mr. Aaron
Hill,* but wondered at his manner of taking
leave of this country, after he had been soex-
ceedingly complaisant to it, when here, as to
compare its subterraneous riches with those of
Mexico and Peru.

There is one thing I always greatly dis-
approved, which is, that when any thing is
whispered, though by few, to the disadvantage
of a woman's reputation, and the matter be
never so doubtful, the ministers are officiously
busy to find out the truth, and by that means
make a kind of publication of what, perhaps,
was only a malicious surmise — or if true, might
have been hushed up ; but their stirring in -it
possesses the mind of every one, who has any
knowledge of the party accused, to her disad-
vantage : and this is done to prevent scandal ! I
will not say what I have heard others allege,
that those who are so needlessly inquisitive in
matters of this nature must certainly feel a

* Aaron Hill was an enlightened traveller, who had visited
many countries, and learnt fairly to appreciate their advantages
and disadvantages. Had he come, drenched and weary, into
die Old Hall, at Buxton, in Derbyshire, where they have rain
during 300 days in the year, and Scotch mint during the other
feixty-five, he would not have been in much better humour with
their climate, however well he might have liked their cauls,
moor-game, and muffins.

.LETTER IX. 183

secret pleasure in such-like examinations ; and
the joke among the English is, that they highly
approve of this proceeding, as it serves for a
direction where to find a loving girl upon occa-
sion.

I have been told, that if two or more of these
ministers admonish, or accuse a man, concern-
ing the scandal of suspected visits to some wo-
man, and that he, through anger, peevishness,
contempt, or desire to screen the woman's repu-
tation, should say, she is my wife, then the
ministers will make a declaration upon the spot
to this purpose, viz.*

" In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy-
Ghost, we pronounce you, A. B. and C. D., to be
man and wife; " and the marriage is valid, at least
so far as it relates to Scotland ; but whether

* In Scotland a mutual acknowledgment before witnesses con-
stitutes marriage, and Gretna Green has no privilege. In a
recent case, where an earldom, and the fate of another wife and
child, depended upon the decision, it was awarded in an English
cpurt, after consulting the first law authorities in Scotland, that
the marriage was lawful, because a certificate, written upon a
scrap of paper, and signed by the gentleman, was produced by
the lady ; and it was proved that they had afterwards been to-
gether long enough to render the consummation of the marriage
probable. In one respect, the law of Scotland is more liberal and
humane than that of England ; the man who marries the mother
of his children legitimates those born before marriage, and puts
them on exactly the same footing with those born after.

184 LETTER IX.

this kind of coupling would be binding when
the parties are in any other country has not
come to my knowledge.

If a woman of any consideration has made a
slip, which becomes visible, and her lover be a
man of some fortune, and an inhabitant, the
kirk will support her, and oblige him either to
marry her, to undergo the penance, or leave the
country; for the woman in that circumstance
always declares she was deceived under pro-
mise of marriage ; and some of them have
spread their snares with design by that means
to catch a husband.* Nay, I have known
English gentlemen, who have been in govern-
ment employments, that, after such an affair,
have been hunted from place to place, almost
from one end of Scotland to the other by the
women, who, wherever they came, have been
favoured by the clergy ; and, at best, the man
has got rid of his embarrassment by a composi-
tion : and, indeed, it is no jesting matter j for

* Mons. de St. Evremont, in a letter to the Marquis de Cre-
qui, says much the same thing of the young unmarried Dutch
women : — " A la verite ou ne trouve pas a redire a la galanterie
des filles, qu'on leur laisse employer bonnement comme une aide
innocente a se procurer des epoux." That is, it is certain, young
maids are not censured for granting the last favour, but are left
to use it honestly, as an innocent means to procure themselves
husbands. But first he makes it very rare that lliey are alter-
o ;ird< left by their lovers.

LETTER IX. 185

although his stay in this country might not be
long enough to see the end of the prosecution,
or, by leave of absence, he might get away to
England, yet the process being carried on from
a kirk session to a presbytery, and thence to a
synod, and from them to the general assembly,
which is the dernier ressort in these cases ; yet
from thence the crime and contempt may be re-
presented above ; and how could any particular
person expect to be upheld in the continuance
of his employment, against so considerable a
body as a national clergy, in transgression against
the laws of the country, with a contempt of
that authority by which those laws are sup-
ported ? I mention this, because I have heard
several make a jest of the kirk's authority.

When a woman has undergone the penance,
with an appearance of repentance, she has
wiped off the scandal among all the godly; and a
female servant, in that regenerated state, is as
well received into one of those families as if she
had never given a proof of her frailty.

There is one kind of severity of the kirk
which I cannot but think very extraordinary ;
and that is, the shameful punishment by pen-
ance* for ante-nuptial fornication, as they call

* When the disastrous and bloody struggle of Scotish reforma-
tion was over, all that escaped the wreck of original genius and
peculiar cast of character, was '' the stool of repentance." — This

186 LETTER IX.

it ;* for the greatest part of male transgressors
that way, when they have gratified their curi-
osity, entertain a quite different opinion of the
former object of their desire from what they
had while she retained her innocence, and
regard her with contempt if not with hatred.
And therefore one might think it a kind of vir-
tue, at least honesty, in the man who afterwards
makes the only reparation he can for the injury
done, by marrying the woman he has other-
wise brought to infamy. Now may not this

stool of terror was fashioned like an arm-chair, and was raised on a
pedestal nearly two feet higher than the other seats, directly fronting
the pulpit. When the kirk bell was rung, the culprit ascended
the chair, and the bell-man arrayed him in the black sackcloth
gown. Here he stood three Sundays successively, his face un-
covered, and the awful scourge hung over him,

** A fixed figure for the hand of scorn
To puint his slow unmoving finger at."'

Cromeks Remains, 266.

* Not long since, in a certain parish in Ayrshire, a serious,
sober citizen, in good circumstances, had the misfortune to have
his first child born within six months after marriage. The Dr.
was powerful in rebuke, and consequently fond of it. No com-
position would be admitted. In vain the poor culprit protested
that he could not marry publicly sooner ; she was his wife in the
sight of God, and he implored that she might not be put to shame
in the sight of her neighbours. The Dr. was inexorable ; they
had no alternative but satisfaction or excommunication ; so they
mounted the stool. The Dr. commenced with a tremendous tirade
against the monstrous, horrible, and damnable abomination of

LETTER IX. 187

public shame deter many from making that ho-
nest satisfaction ? But the great offence is against
the office, which formerly here was the prero-
gative of the civil magistrate as well as the
minister, till the former was jostled out of it
by clamour.

There happened, a very few years ago, a fatal
instance of the change of opinion above-men-
tioned : —

A young gentleman (if he may deserve the

ante-nuptial fornication. The poor man, who had never heard
such a portentous word before, imagining, from the doctor's fury,
that it meant something extraordinary and unnatural, in great agi-
tation, cried out, " Hoot! hoot awa, Sir — haud! haud! No sae
bad as that neither — not ante-nuptial — nothing of the kind Sir :
indeed you've been misinformed ; — it was only just/orme, Sir, —
plain /ornte, so help me — !" The mirth which this unexpected
rejoinder excited in the congregation, gave a lesson to the clergy-
man not to be rash in bringing such a subject before them after-
wards. It is now only in what is called the west country
(which the readers of Burns are pretty well acquainted with) that
the cutty-stool is in any degree of vogue. In many country
places, the clergy cannot get rid of the penance altogether ; but
the culprits stand up in their private seal, or wherever they
please, and it is merely announced to the congregation, as tran-
siently as possible, that they stand, &c. for the first, second, or
third, time.

Of the trouncers, it is remarked every where, that they have
wonderful success in cutting out work for themselves ; the more
they do, the more they have to do ; like travelling tinkers, w o
mend one old hole in a kettle and make three new ones.

881 LETTER IX.

title) made his addresses to the only daughter
of a considerable merchant in a city of the Low-
lands; and one evening as the young people
were alone together, being supposed to be just
upon the eve of marriage, and the young wo-
man's father and mother in the next room,
which was separated only by a slight partition,
the eager spark made his villanous attempt with
oaths and imprecations, and using the common
plea, that they were already man and wife be-
fore God, and promising the ceremony should
be performed the next day, and perhaps he
meant it at that instant. By these means he
put the poor girl under a dilemma, either to
give herself up, or, by resisting the violence, to
expose her lover to the fury of her parents.
Thus she was — what shall I say ?— one must
not say undone, for fear of a joke, though not
from you. And as that kind of conquest, once
obtained, renders the vanquished a slave to her
conqueror, the wedding was delayed, and she
soon found herself with child. At length the
time came when she was delivered, and in that
feeble state she begged she might only speak to
her deceiver ; who, with great difficulty, was
prevailed with to see her. But when she put
him in mind of the circumstances she was in
when he brought her to ruin, he, in a careless,
indolent manner, told her she was as willing as

LETTER IX. 189

himself; upon which she cried out, "Villain,
you know yourself to be a liar!" and imme-
diatly jumped out of bed, and dropped down
dead upon the floor.

But I must go a little further, to do justice to
the young gentlemen of that town and the neigh-
bourhood of it ; for as soon as the melancholy
catastrophe was known, they declared to all the
keepers of taverns and coffee-houses where
they came, that if ever they entertained that
fellow they would never after enter their
doors.

Thus, in a very little time, he was deprived of
all society, and obliged to quit the country.

I am afraid your smart ones in London would
have called this act of barbarity only a piece of
gallantry, and the betrayer would have been as
well received among them as ever before.

I know I should be laughed at by the liber-
tines, for talking thus gravely upon this subject,
if my letter were to fall into their hands. But
it is not in their power, by a sneer, to alter the
nature of justice, honour, or honesty, for they
will always be the same.

What I have said is only for repairing the ef-
fect of violence, deceit, and perjury; and
of this, every one is a conscious judge of
himself.

190 LETTER IX.

If any one be brought before a presbytery/1
&c. to be questioned for sculduddery, i. e. forni-
cation or adultery, and shows a neglect of their
authority, the offender is not only brought to
punishment by their means, but will be avoided
by his friends, acquaintance, and all that know
him and his circumstance in that respect.

I remember a particular instance in Edin-
burgh, where the thing was carried to an ex-
traordinary height.

A married footman was accused of adultery
with one of the wenches in the same family
where he served ; and, before a kirk session,
was required to confess, for nothing less will
satisfy ; but he persisted in a denial of the fact.

This contempt of the clergy and lay elders,
or, as they say, of the kirk, excited against him
so much the resentment and horror of the or-

* Evrry parish in the Western Isles has a church judicature,
called the consistory, or kirk session, where the minister presides,
and a competent number of laymen, called elders, meet with
him. They take cognizance of scandals, censure faulty persona,
and with that strictness as to give an oath to those who are sus-
pected of adultery, or fornication, for which they are to be pro-
ceeded against according to the customs of the country. They
meet after divine service; the chief director of (he parish is pre-
sent to concur with them, and enforce their acts by his authority,
which is irresistible within the bounds of his jurisdiction.

Martyns Western Islands, 126.

if

LETTER IX. 191

dinary people (who looked upon him as in a
state of damnation while the anathema hung
over his head), that none of them would drink
at the house where his wife kept a change.

Thus the poor woman was punished for the
obstinacy of her husband, notwithstanding she
was innocent, and had been wronged the other
way.*

I was told in Edinburgh that a certain Scots
colonel, being convicted of adultery (as being a
married man), and refusing to compound, he
was sentenced to stand in a hair cloth at the
kirk door every Sunday morning for a whole
year, and to this he submitted.

At the beginning of his penance he concealed
his face as much as he could, but three or four
young lasses passing by him, one of them
stooped down, and cried out to her companions,

" Lord ! it's Colonel ." Upon which he

suddenly threw aside his disguise, and said,
" Miss, you are right ; and if you will be the
subject of it, I will wear this coat another
twelvemonth."

Some young fellows of fortune have made
slight of the stool of repentance, being attended
by others of their age and circumstances of life,
who, to keep them in countenance, stand with

* This, however, was making " partial evil universal good."

192 LETTER IX.

them in the same gallery or pew fronting the
pulpit ; so that many of the spectators, stran-
gers especially, cannot distinguish the culprit
from the rest. Here is a long extemporary re-
proof and admonition, as I said before, which
often creates mirth among some of the congre-
gation.

This contempt of the punishment has occa-
sioned, and more especially of late years, a
composition in money with these young rakes,
and the kirk treasurer gives regular receipts
and discharges for such and such fornications.

As I have already told you how much the mi-
nisters are revered, especially by the com-
monalty, you will readily conclude the mob are
at their devotion upon the least hint given for
that purpose ; of which there are many riotous
instances, particularly at the opening of the
playhouse in Edinburgh, to which the clergy
were very averse, and left no stone unturned to
prevent it.

I do not, indeed, remember there was much
disturbance at the institution of the ball or
assembly, because that meeting is chiefly com-
posed of people of distinction ; and none are
admitted but such as have at least a just title
to gentility, except strangers of good appear-
ance. And if by chance any others intrude
they are expelled upon the spot, by order of

LETTER IX. 193

the directrice, or governess, who is a woman of
quality. — I say, it is not in my memory there
was any riot at the first of these meetings ; but
some of the ministers published their warnings
and admonitions against promiscuous dancing ;
and in one of their printed papers, which was
cried about the streets, it was said that the devils
are particularly busy upon such occasions. And
Asmodeus was pitched upon as the most dan-
gerous of all in exciting to carnality. In both
these cases, viz. the playhouse and the assem-
bly, the ministers lost ground to their great
mortification; for the most part of the ladies
turned rebels to their remonstrances, notwith-
standing the frightful danger.

I think I never saw so many pretty women of
distinction together as at that assembly, and
therefore it is no wonder that those who know
the artful insinuations of that fleshly spirit
should be jealous of so much beauty.

But I have not done with my kirk treasurer:
— this in Edinburgh is thought a profitable em-
ployment.

I have heard of one of them (severe enough
upon others) who, having a round sum of money
in his keeping, the property of the kirk,
marched off with the cash, and took his neigh-
bour's wife along with him to bear him com-
pany and partake of the spoil.

VOL. i. o

194 LETTER IX.

There are some rugged hills about the skirts
of that city, which, by their hollows and wind-
ings, may serve as screens from incurious eyes;
but there are sets of fellows, enemies to love
and lovers of profit, who make it a part of their
business, when they see two persons of different
sexes walk out to take the air, to dog them
about from place to place, and observe their
motions, while they themselves are concealed.
And if they happen to see any kind of freedom
between them, or perhaps none at all, they
march up to them and demand the bidling-siller*
(alluding to the money usually given for the use
of a bull) ; and if they have not something given
them (which to do would be a tacit confession),
they, very likely, go and inform the kirk trea-
surer of what perhaps they never saw, who
certainly makes the man a visit the next morning.
And as he (the treasurer), like our informing
justices formerly, encourages these wretches,
people lie at the mercy of villains who would
perhaps forswear themselves for six-pence a-
piece.

* This tax in England is called socket ; a venerable old La-
tiuo-Saxon law term, not to be found in Sir Henry Spelman. It
means the acknowledgment given by a tenant to his landlord, on
the occasion of putting the sock, or ploughshare, in new ground.
At Oxford, where a proctor is as terrible a^ a kirk treasurer, it
is levied with great rigour from fresJimen and under graduates.

LETTER IX. 195

The same fellows, or such like, are peeping
about the streets of Edinburgh in the night-time,
to see who and who are together; and sometimes
affront a brother and sister, or a man and his
wife.

I have known the town-guard, a band of men
armed and clothed in uniforms like soldiers, to
beset a house for a whole night, upon an infor-
mation that a man and a woman went in there,
though in the day time. In short, one would
think there was no sin, according to them, but
fornication, or other virtue besides keeping the
sabbath.

People would startle more at the humming or
whistling part of a tune on a Sunday, than if any
body should tell them you had ruined a family.

I thought I had finished my letter ; but step-
ping to the window, I saw the people crowding
out of the kirk from morning service ; and the
bell begins to ring, as if they were to face about
and return. And now I am sitting down again to
add a few words on that subject; — but you have
perceived that such occasional additions hare
been pretty common in the course of this
prattle.

This bell is a warning to those who are going
out, that they must soon return ; and a notice to
such as are at home, that the afternoon service
is speedily to begin. They have a bell in most

o2

196 LETTER IX.

of the Lowland kirks ; and as the Presbyterians
and other sectaries in England are not allowed
to be convened by that sound (of their own), so
neither are those of the episcopal church in Scot-
land. But I need not tell you, that every where
the reigning church will be paramount, and keep
all other communities under. The people, in
the short interval between the times of service,
walk about in the church-yard, the neighbouring
fields, or step home and eat an egg or some little
ready-dressed morsel, and then go back to
their devotions. But they fare better in the
evening ; which has given rise to a common
saying in Scotland, viz. " If you would live well
on the sabbath, you must eat an episcopal din-
ner and a presbyterian supper." By this it
should seem, that the Episcopalians here pro-
vide a dinner, as in England ; — I say it seems so,
for I never was at one of their meetings, or dined
with any of them at their houses on a Sunday.

I have just now taken notice that each church
has but one bell; which leads me to acquaint
you, that on a joy-day, as the king's birth-day,
&c. (we will suppose in Edinburgh, where there
are nine churches), the bells are all rung at a
time, and almost all of them within hearing.
This causes a most disagreeable jangling, by
their often clashing one with another. And thus
their joy is expressed by the same means as

LETTER IX. 197

our sorrow would be for the death of a good
king.

But their music bells (as they call them) are
very entertaining, and a disgrace to our clock-
work chimes.

They are played at the hours of exchange,
that is, from eleven to twelve, upon keys like an
organ or harpsichord ; only, as the force in this
case must be greater than upon those instru-
ments, the musician has a small cushion to each
hand, to save them from bruising.

He plays Scots, English, Irish, and Italian
tunes to great perfection, and is heard all over
the city. This he performs every week-day,
and, I am told, receives from the town, for this
service, a salary of fifty pounds a-year.

LETTER X.

I AM now to acquaint you that 1 have not at this
time sufficient provision for your usual repast.
But, by the way, I cannot help accusing myself
of some arrogance, in using such a metaphor;
because your ordinary fare has been little else
beside brochan, cale, stirabout, sowings, £c. (oat-
meal varied in several shapes) : but, that you may
be provided with something, I am now about to
give you a haggass, which would be yet less
agreeable, were it not to be a little seasoned
with variety.

The day before yesterday, an occasion called
me to make a progress of about six or seven
miles among the mountains ; but before I set
out, I was told the way was dangerous to stran-
gers, who might lose themselves in the hills if
they had not a conductor. For this reason,
about two miles from hence, I hired a guide, and
agreed with him for six-pence to attend me the
whole day. This poor man went barefoot, some-
times by my horse's side, and in dangerous
places leading him by the bridle, winding about

LETTER X. 199

from side to side among the rocks, to such gaps
where the horses could raise their feet high
enough to mount the stones, or stride over them.

In this tedious passage, in order to divert my-
self (having an interpreter with me), I asked my
guide a great many questions relating to the
Highlands, all which he answered very properly.

In his turn, he told me, by way of question,
to hear what I would say, that he believed there
would be no war ; but I did not understand his
meaning till I was told. By war he meant re-
bellion ; and then, with a dismal countenance,
he said he was by trade a weaver, and that in
the year 1715, the seidir roy, or red soldiers, as
they call them (to distinguish them from the
Highland companies, whom they call seidir don,
or the black soldiers) — I say he told me, that
they burnt his house and his loom, and he had
never been in a condition since that time to pur-
chase materials for his work, otherwise he had
not needed to be a guide ; and he thought his
case very hard, because he had not been in the
affair, or the scrape, as they call it all over Scot-
land, being cautious of using the word Rebel-
lion. But this last declaration of his, I did not
so much depend on.

When he had finished his story, which, by in-
terpreting, took up a good deal of time, I re-

200 LETTER X.

counted to him the fable of the pigeon's fate that
happened to be among the jackdaws, at which
he laughed heartily, notwithstanding his late
grief for his loss ; and doubtless the fable was to
him entirely new.

I then asked his reason why he thought there
would not be another war (as he called it) ; and
his answer was, he believed the English did not
expect one, because they were fooling away
their money, in removing great stones and blow-
ing up of rocks.

Here he spoke his grievance as a guide ; and
indeed, when the roads are finished according
to the plan proposed, there will be but little
occasion for those people, except such as can
speak English, and may by some be thought
necessary for interpreters in their journeys : — I
say they will be useless as guides alone, reckon-
ing from the south of Scotland to this town the
mountain way (for along the coast hither, the
road can hardly be mistaken), and counting again
from the Lowlands to the west end of the open-
ing among the mountains that run from hence
quite across the island.

But all the Highlands north of this town and
the said opening will remain as rugged and dan-
gerous as ever.

At length I arrived at the spot, of which I was

LETTER X. 201

to take a view, and found it most horrible ; but
in the way that I went, being the shortest cut
going southward, it is not to be avoided.

This is a deep, narrow hollow, between very
steep mountains, into which huge parts of rocks
have fallen. It is a terrifying sight to those who
are not accustomed to such views ; and at bot-
tom is a small but dangerous burn, running
wildly among the rocks, especially in times of
rain. You descend by a declivity in the face
of the mountain, from whence the rocks have
parted (for they have visibly their decay), and
the rivulet is particularly dangerous, when the
passenger is going along with the stream, and
pursued by the torrent. But you have not far
to go in this bottom before you leave the cur-
rent, which pursues its way, in continued wind-
ings, among the feet of the mountains ; and soon
after you ascend by a steep and rocky hill, and
when the height is attained, you would think the
most rugged ways you could possibly conceive
to be a happy variety.

When I had returned to the hut where I took
my guide, being pleased with the fellow's good
humour, and frankness in answering my ques-
tions, instead of six-pence I gave him a shilling.
At first he could not trust his own eyes, or
thought I was mistaken ; but being told what
it was, and that it was all his own, he fell on his

202 LETTER X.

knees and cried out, he never, in all his life be-
fore, knew any body give more than they bar-
gained for. This done, he ran into his hut, and
brought out four children almost naked, to show
them to me, with a prayer for the English.*
Thus I had, for so small a price as one six-
pence, the exquisite pleasure of making a poor
creature happy for a time.

Upon my Highlander's lamentation of his loss
and present bad circumstances, I could not for-
bear to reflect and moralize a little, concluding,
that ruin is ruin, as much to the poor as to
those that had been rich.

Here's a poor Highlandman (whose house,

* That this poor rogue of a Highlander should be astonished
at receiving a benevolence of any kind from an English
seidir rot/, is not at all to be wondered at, any more than that
he should wish his four naked children also to get something extra-
ordinary. That he had not been out in 1715 is very probable.
He was evidently no hero, or he would never have been a wea-
ver.— The labours of the loom have been in all countries, at one
time or other, confined entirely to the female sex, and consequently
considered as in the highest degree degrading to a meat. The
machine at present in use for weaving is inconvenient and unfa-
vourable to the female form, and at some times dangerous ; yet,
even now, much of the weaving in the Highlands is done by wo-
men ; a man weaver seldom establishes himself among his kin-
dred ; and his profession is ranked lower than even that of a
tailor. The weaver here mentioned had evidently lost his
caste, otherwise the kindness of his clan and kindred would have
enabled him to procure the implements of his trade in less than

LETTER X.

loom, and all his other effects were, it is likely,
not worth thirty shillings) as effectually undone,
by the loss he sustained, as one that had been
in the possession of thousands ; and the burn-
ing of one of their huts, which does not cost
fifteen shillings in building, is much worse to
them than the loss of a palace by fire is to the
owner. And were it not for their fond attach-
ment to their chiefs, and the advantage those
gentlemen take of their slave-like notions of
patriarchal power, I verily believe there are but
few among them that would engage in an en-
terprize so dangerous to them a$ rebellion ; and
as some proof of this, I have been told by se-
veral people of this town, that in the year 1715,

from ten to fifteen years. His feelings as a guide were very na-
tural. About four years ago, the present writer met, on the top
of Ben Lomond, an old Highlander, who said he had been a guide
from the north side of the mountain for upwards of forty years ;
" but that d — d Walter Scott, that every body makes such a
work about," exclaimed he with vehemence ; " I wish I had him
to ferry over Loch Lomond, I should be after sinking the boat,
if I drowned myself into the bargain ; for ever since he wrote
his * Lady of the Lake,' as they call it, every body goes to see
rhat filthy hole Loch Catrine, then comes round by Luss, and I
have had only two gentlemen to guide all this blessed season,
which is now at an end. I shall never see the top of Ben Lo-
mond again! — The d — 1 confound his ladies and his lakes, say
I!" This guide had in every respect the exact appearance
which I had always imagined of RED MURDOCH, in the Larly of
the Lake.

204 LETTER X.

the then earl of Mar continued here for near
two months together before he could muster
two hundred Highlanders, so unwilling were
these poor people to leave their little houses
and their families to go a king-making.*

But when a number sufficient for his present
purpose had been corrupted by rewards and
promises, he sent them out in parties from hut
to hut, threatening destruction to such as re-
fused to join with them.

But it may be necessary to let you know
that these men, of whom I have been speaking,
were not such as were immediataly under the
eye of their respective chiefs, but scattered in
little dwellings about the skirts of the moun-
tains.

* He waited till the clans should take the field. The unex-
pected death of Queen Anne, and the harsh and impolitic measures
adopted against the ejected Tory ministry, had disconcerted all the
schemes of the Jacobites, who were altogether unprepared for an
insurrection. The earl of Mar was a mere disappointed place-
man, with no better principle than his discontent to recommend
him to the confidence of a warlike and adventurous people ; yet,
in little more than the time here specified, he was able to take the
field at the head of an army of 10,000 men, which was a proof
that they were at all times much too forward to engage in such
enterprizes. Distinguished as they have always been by their
attachment to " their little houses and their families,1' that very
attachment was their chief incentive to hazardous undertakings ;
for their's were no homes blessed with plenty and peace, wfcere

LETTER X. 205

Here follows the copy of a Highlander's letter,
which has been lately handed about this town,
as a kind of curiosity.

When I first saw it, I suspected it to be sup-
posititious, and calculated as a lure, whereby
to entice some Highlanders to the colony from
whence it was supposed to be written ; but I
was afterwards assured, by a very credible per-
son, that he knew it to be genuine.

Endorsed — Letter from Donald McPherson a
young Highland lad, who was sent to Virginia
with Captain Toline, and was born near the
house of Culloden where his father lives.

they could sit at ease, " every man under his own vine, and
under his own fig-tree." And here there was a more generous
sentiment connected with their rising, which was much too ho-
nourable to their characters to he branded with the stigma of re-
hellion ; — commiseration for their unfortunate chief (for in this
light they viewed King James), driven from his throne and his
country, and his place filled by a stranger, who had, with scorn
and reproach, rejected their offers of acquiescence, and, by so
doing, put them in a state of proscription. This glaring indica-
tion of hatred, defiance, and unrelenting persecution in the new
government, was sufficient to account for their taking arms, in-
dependent of their attachment to a family which, during the three
reigns preceding the abdication, had shown them peculiar favour,
and for which they had so often fought and bled.

206 LETTER X.

Portobago in Marilante, 'Z June 17 — .

Tcer Lofen Kynt Fater.

Dis is te lat ye ken, dat I am in quid healt,
plessed be Got for dat, houpin te here de lyk
frae yu, as I am yer nane sin, I wad a bine ill
leart gin 1 had na latten yu ken tis, be kaptin
Rogirs skep dat geangs to Innerness, per cunnan
I dinna ket sika anither apertunti dis towmen
agen. De skep dat I kam in was a lang tym o
de see cumin oure heir, but plissit pi Got for a
ting wi a kepit our heels unco weel, pat Shonie
Magwillivray dat hat ay a sair heet. Dere was
saxty o's a kame inte te quintry hel a lit an lim
an nane o's a dyit pat Shonie Magwillivray an
an otter Ross lad dat kam oure wi's an mai pi
dem twa wad a dyit gin tey hed bitten at hame.

Pi mi fait I kanna komplin for kumin te dis
quintry, for mestir Nicols, Lort pliss hem, pat
mi till a pra mestir, dey ca him Shon Bayne, an
hi lifes in Marylant in te rifer Potomak, he nifer
gart mi wark ony ting pat fat I lykit mi sel : de
meast o a mi wark is waterin a pra stennt hors,
an pringin wyn an pread ut o de seller te mi
mestir's tebil.

Sin efer I kam til him I nefer wantit a pottle
o petter ele nor is in a Shon Glass hous, for I ay
set toun wi de pairns te dennir.

LETTER X. 207

Mi mestir seys til mi, fan I can speek lyk de
fouk hier dat I sanna pe pidden di nating pat
gar his plackimors wurk, for de fyt fouk dinna
ise te wurk pat te first yeer aftir dey kum in te
de quintry. Tey speek a lyk de sogers in
Innerness.

Lofen fater, fan de sarvants hier he deen wi
der mestirs, dey grou unco rich, an its ne
wonter for day mak a hantil o tombako ; an des
sivites an apels an de sheries an de pires grou
in de wuds wantin tyks apout dem. De
swynes te ducks an durkies geangs en de wuds
wantin mestirs.

De tombako grous shust lyk de dockins en de
bak o de lairts yart an de skeps dey cum fra
ilka place an bys dem an gies a hantel o silder
an gier for dem.

Mi nane mestir kam til de quintry a sarfant
an weil I wot hi's nou wort mony a susan punt.
Fait ye mey pelive mi de pirest plantir hire lifes
amost as weil as de lairt o Collottin. Mai pi
fan mi tim is ut I wel kom hem an sie yu pat
not for de furst nor de neest yeir till I gater
somting o mi nane, for fan I ha dun wi mi
mestir, hi maun gi mi a plantashon to set mi
up, its de quistium hier in dis quintry ; an syn
I houp to gar yu trink wyn insteat o tippeni in
Innerness.

LETTER X.

I wis 1 hat kum our hier twa or tri yiers
seener nor I dit, syn I wad ha kum de seener
hame, pat Got bi tanket dat I kam sa seen as
I dit.

Gin yu koud sen mi ovvr be ony o yur Inner-
ness skeps, ony ting te mi, an it war as muckle
clays as mak a quelt it wad, mey pi, gar my
meister tink te mere o mi. It's trw I ket clays
eneu fe him bat oni ting fe yu wad luck weel an
pony, an ant plese Got gin I life, I sal pey yu
pack agen.

Lofen fater, de man dat vryts dis letir for mi
is van Shams Macheyne, hi lifes shust a myl fe
mi, hi hes pin unko kyn te mi sin efer I kam te
de quintrie. Hi wes porn en Petic an kam our
a sarfant fe Klesgou an hes peen hes nane man
twa yeirs, an has sax plackimors wurkin til hem
alrety makin tombako ilka tay. Heil win hem,
shortly an a te geir dat he hes wun hier an py
a LERTS KIP at hem. Luck dat yu duina forket
te vryt til mi ay, fan yu ket ony ocashion.

Got Almichte pliss you Fater an a de leve o
de hous, for I hana forkoten nane o yu, nor
dinna yu forket mi, for plise Got I sal kum hem
wi gier eneuch te di yu a an mi nane sel
guid.

1 weit you will be very vokie, fan yu sii
yur nane sins fesh agen, for I heive leirt a

LETTER X. 209

hantle hevens sin I sau yu an I am unco buick
leirt.

A tis is fe yur lofen an Opetient Sin,

TONAL MACKAFERSON.
Directed — For Shames Mackaferson neir te
Lairt o Collottin's hous, neir Innerness
en de Nort o Skotlan.*

This letter is a notable instance of those ex-
travagant hopes that often attend a new condi-
tion. Yet Donald, notwithstanding all his hap-
piness, desires his father to send him some
clothes ; not that he wants, or shall want them,
but that they would look bonny, and recommend
him to his master. But I shall not further an-
ticipate that difficulty, which 1 know will not
be unpleasing to you.

If you should think poor Donald's sentiments
of his change to be worth your notice, and at
the same time find yourself at a loss to make
out any part of his letter, your friend Sir Alex-

* This jeu-d' esprit has a good deal of humour in it. It is
written in the dialect which is spoken on the borders of Murray
and Banffshire, the spelling being adapted to the pronunciation
of such Highlanders as speak broken English. But it is evi-
dently written by one who did not understand Gaelic ; there is
not a single idiom of that language in it, and the orthography is
much too nicely adjusted to be genuine, although the hint may
have been taken from an original letter.
VOL. I. P

210 LETTER X.

ander, who is very communicative, will be
pleased with the office of your interpreter.

There is one thing I should have told you at
first, which is, that where I have marked the
single (a) thus (a), it must be pronounced (au),
which signifies (all).

LETTER XI.

NEAR the the conclusion of my last letter but
one, I happened to say a word or two concern-
ing the Episcopalians of this country, of whom
I do not remember to have known one that is
not a professed Jacobite, except such as are in
the army, or otherwise employed under the
government, and therefore I must suppose all
those who have accepted of commissions or
places were in their hearts of revolutional prh>
ciples before they entered into office, or that
they changed for them on that occasion.

You know my true meaning ; but many peo-
ple in this country render the word revolution a
very equivocal expression — nor, among many,
is it free from ambiguity in the south.

Their ministers here are all nonjurors, that I
know, except those of the chief baron's chapel
in Edinburgh, and the Episcopal church at
Aberdeen; but whether there is any qualified
Episcopal minister at Glasgow, St. Andrews,
&c. I do not know.*

r There were qualified ministers in most of the towns where
p2

212 LETTER XI.

The nonjuring ministers generally lead regu-
lar lives ; and it behoves them so to do, for
otherwise they would be distanced by their
rivals.

I saw a flagrant example of the people's dis-
affection to the present government in the above-
mentioned church of Aberdeen, where there is
an organ, the only one I know of, and the ser-
vice is chaunted as in our cathedrals.

Being there, one Sunday morning, with ano^
ther English gentleman, when the minister came
to that part of the Litany where the king is
prayed for by name, the people all rose up as
one, in contempt of it, and men and women set
themselves about some trivial action, as taking
snuff, &c. to show their dislike, and signify to
each other they were all of one mind ; and when
the responsal should have been pronounced,
though they had been loud in all that preceded,
to our amazement there was not one single
voice to be heard but our own, so suddenly and
entirely were we dropped.

At coming out of the church we complained

{here vvas any considerable number of Episcopalians. St. Paul's
chapel in Aberdeen, here mentioned, is the only one in Scotland
now upon the old footing, owing to some jealousy about pa-
tronage among the congregation, in consequence of which their
children cannot have the benefit of regular and orderly confirma-
tion. This the Bishop of London should look to.

LETTER XI. 213

to the minister (who, as I said before, was qua-
lified) of this rude behaviour of his congrega-
tion, who told us he was greatly ashamed of it,
and had often admonished them, at least, to
behave with more decency.

The nonjuring ministers have made a kind of
linsey-woolsey piece of stuff of their doctrine,
by interweaving the people's civil rights with
religion,* and teaching them, that it is as un-
christian not to believe their notions of govern-
ment as to disbelieve the Gospel. But I be-
lieve the business, in a great measure, is to
procure and preserve separate congregations to
themselves, in which they find their account, by
inciting state enthusiasm, as others do church
fanaticism, and, in return, their hearers have
the secret pleasure of transgressing under the
umbrage of duty.

I have often admired the zeal of a pretty
well-dressed Jacobite, when I have seen her
go down one of the narrow, steep wyndes in
Edinburgh, through an accumulation of the
worst kind of filth, and whip up a blind stair-
case almost as foul, yet with an air as degagt,
as if she were going to meet a favourite lover in
some poetic bower : and, indeed, the difference

* This linsey-woolsey was unhappily, at that time, the com-
mon wear of most of the clergy in the three kingdoms, whatever
party they belonged to.

214 LETTER XI.

between the generality of those people and the
Presbyterians, particularly the women, is visi-
ble when they come from their respective in-
structors, for the former appear with cheerful
countenances, and the others look as if they
had been just before convicted and sentenced
by their gloomy teachers.

I shall now, for a while, confine myself to
some customs in this town ; and shall not wan-
der, except something material starts in my
way.

The evening before a wedding there is a cere-
mony called the feet-washing, when the bride-
maids attend the future bride, and wash her
feet.*

They have a penny-wedding ; — that is, when a
servant-maid has served faithfully, and gained
the good-will of her master and mistress, they
invite their relations and friends, and there
is a dinner or supper on the day the servant
is married, and music and dancing follow to
complete the evening.

* Next morning the matrons attend her up-rising, and have a
merry-making at the ceremony of the curch-putting-on, or
adorning her for the first time (if she has preserved her maiden
honours till marriage) with the curch, or close cap, as she can no
longer wear the snood, or maiden tyre. This very ancient usage
is still common all over the north of Europe. — See Illustrations
of Northern Antiquities, &c. p. 354.

LETTER XI.

The bride must go about the room and kiss
every man in the company, and in the end
every body puts money into a dish, according
to their inclination and ability. By this means
a family in good circumstances, and respected
by those they invite, have procured for the new
couple wherewithal to begin the world pretty
comfortably for people of their low condition.
But I should have told you, that the whole ex-
pence of the feast and fiddlers is paid out of
the contributions. This and the former are like-
wise customs all over the Lowlands of Scotland.

I never was present at one of their weddings,
nor have I heard of any thing extraordinary in
that ceremony, only they do not use the ring in
marriage, as in England. But it is a most co-
mical farce to see an ordinary bride conducted
to church by two men, who take her under the
arms, and hurry the poor unwilling creature along
the streets, as you may have seen a pickpocket
dragged to a horse-pond in London. I have some-
where read of a kind of force, of old, put upon
virgins in the article of marriage, in some east-
ern country, where the practice was introduced
to conquer their modesty; but I think, in this
age and nation, there is little occasion for any
such violence ; and, perhaps, with reverence to
antiquity, though it often reproaches our times,
it was then only used to save appearances.

216 LETTER XI.

The moment a child is born, in these north-
ern parts, it is immerged in cold water,* be the
season of the year never so rigorous. When I
seemed at first a little shocked at the mention of
this strange extreme, the good women told me
the midwives would not forego that practice if
my wife, though a stranger, had a child born in
this country.

At the christening, the husband holds up the
child before the pulpit, from whence the mini-
ster gives him along extemporary admonition
concerning its education. In most places the
infant's being brought to the church is not to be
dispensed with, though it be in never so weak a
condition ; but here, as I said before, they are
not so scrupulous in that and some other parti-
culars.

For inviting people to ordinary buryings, in
all parts of the Low-country as well as here, a

* The cold bath was so much in esteem by the ancient High-
'anders, that as soon as an infant was born he was plunged into a
running stream, and wrapped carefully in a blanket ; and soon after
he was made to swallow a small quantity of fresh butter, in order
to accelerate the removal of the meconium. When an iufant was
christened, in order to counteract the power of evil spirits,
witches, &c. he was put in a basket, with bread and cheese,
wrapped up in a linen cloth, and thus the basket and its contents
were handed across the fire, or supended on the pot-crook that
hung from the joist over the fire-place. — Campbell's Journey,
vol. i. 260.

LETTER XI. 217

man goes about with a bell, and, when he comes
to one of his stations (suppose the deceased
was a man), he cries, " All brethren and sisters,
I let you to wot, that there is a brother departed
this life, at the pleasure of Almighty God ;
they called him, &c. — he lived at, &c." — And
so for a woman, with the necessary alterations.
The corpse is carried, not upon men's shoulders,
as in England, but underhand upon a bier;
and the nearest relation to the deceased carries
the head, the next of kin on his right hand,
&c. and, if the church-yard be any thing dis-
tant, they are relieved by others as occasion
may require. The men go two and two
before the bier, and the women, in the same
order, follow after it ; and all the way the bell-
man goes tinkling before the procession, as is
done before the host in popish countries.

Not long ago a Highlandman was buried
here. There were few in the procession be-
sides Highlanders in their usual garb ; and aR
the way before them a piper played on his
bagpipe, which was hung with narrow streamers
of black crape.

When people of some circumstance are to be
buried, the nearest relation sends printed let-
ters signed by himself, and sometimes, but
rarely, the invitation has been general, and
made by beat of drum.

218 LETTER XI.

The friends of the deceased usually meet at
the house of mourning the day before the fune-
ral, where they sit a good while, like quakers
at a silent meeting, in dumb show of sorrow ;
but in time the bottle is introduced, and the
ceremony quite reversed.

It is esteemed very slighting, and scarcely
ever to be forgiven, not to attend after invita-
tion, if you are in health; the only means to
escape resentment is to send a letter, in answer,
with some reasonable excuse.

The company, which is always numerous,
meets in the street at the door of the deceased ;
and when a proper number of them are assem-
bled, some of those among them, who are of
highest rank or most esteemed, and strangers,
are the first invited to walk into a room, where
there usually are several pyramids of plum-
cake, sweetmeats, and several dishes, with
pipes and tobacco ; the last is according to an
old custom, for it is very rare to see any body
smoke in Scotland.

The nearest relations and friends of the person
to be interred attend, and, like waiters, serve you
with wine for about a quarter of an hour ; and
no sooner have you accepted of one glass but
another is at your elbow, and so a third, &c.
There is no excuse to be made for not drinking,
for then it will be said, " You have obliged my

LETTER XI. 219

brother, or my cousin such-a-one ; pray, Sir,
what have I done to be refused?" When the
usual time is expired, this detachment goes out
and another succeeds ; and when all have had
their tour, they accompany the corpse to the
grave, which they generally do about noon.

The minister, who is always invited, per-
forms no kind of funeral service for those of
any rank whatever, but most commonly is one
of the last that leaves the place of burial.

When the company are about to return, a
part of them are selected to go back to the
house, where all sorrow seems to be immediately
banished, and the wine is filled about as fast as
it can go round, till there is hardly a sober per-
son among them. And, by the way, I have
been often told, that some have kept their
friends drinking upon this occasion for more
days together than I can venture to mention.

In the conclusion, some of the sweetmeats
are put into your hat, or thrust into your pocket,
which enables you to make a great compliment
to the women of your acquaintance.

This last homage they call the drudgy ; but I
suppose they mean the dirge — that is, a service
performed for a dead person some time after
his death ;* or this may be instead of a lamen-
tation sung at the funeral ; but I am sure it has

* One of the Antiphones of the Requiem was " Dirige nos,
Domine."

220 LETTER Xt.

no sadness attending it, except it be for an
aching head the next morning. The day fol-
lowing, every one that has black puts it on, and
wears it for some time afterwards ; and if the
deceased was any thing considerable, though
the mourner's relation to him was never so re-
mote, it serves to soothe the vanity of some,
by inciting the question, " For whom do you
mourn?" — " My cousin, the laird of such-a-
place," or " My Lord such-a-one," is the answer
to the question begged by the sorrowful dress.
I have seen the doors and gates blacked over in
token of mourning.

I must confess I never was present at more
than one of these funerals, though afterwards in-
vited to several, and was pretty hard put to it
to find out proper excuses ; but I never failed
to inquire what had passed at those assemblies,
and found but little difference among them.

You know I never cared to be singular when
once engaged in company, and in this case I
thought it best, being a stranger, to comply
with their customs, though I could not but
foresee the inconvenience that was to follow so
great an intimacy with the bottle.*

You will, perhaps, wonder why I have con-

* In the Lowlands, there is now nothing to be called drinking
at funerals ; but in the Highlands, where the attendants must
come from a great distance, refreshment is necessary, and, as grief
is dry, there are sometimes excesses.

LETTER XI. 221

tinued so long upon this subject, none of the
most entertaining ; but as the better sort here
are almost all of them related to one another in
some degree, either by consanguinity, marriage,
or clanship, it is to them, as it were, a kind of
business, and takes up good part of their time.
In short, they take a great pride and pleasure in
doing honours to their dead.

The minister or parish has no demand for
christening, marrying, or burying. This last
expence, particularly, 1 have ever thought un-
reasonable to be charged upon the poorer sort
in England. A poor industrious man, for ex-
ample, who has laboured hard for fifty years
together, brought up a numerous family, and
been at last reduced to necessity by his extra-
ordinary charge, age, and long sickness, shall
not be entitled to his length and breadth under
the ground of that parish where he had lived,
but his poor old widow must borrow or beg
to pay the duties, or (which to her, perhaps, is
yet worse) be forced to make her humble suit
to an imperious parish officer, whose insolence
to his inferiors (in fortune) was ever increasing
with the success he met with in the world ; be-
sides the disgrace and contumely the poor
wretch must suffer from her neighours in the
alley, for that remarkable state of poverty, viz.
being reduced to beg the ground. And none

222 LETTER XI.

more ready than the poor to reproach with their
poverty any whom they have the pleasure to
think yet poorer than themselves. This to
her may be as real distress as any dishonour
that happens to people of better condition.

Before I proceed to the Highlands (j. e. the
mountains),! shall conduct you round this town,
to see if there be any thing worth your notice
in the adjacent country.

Toward the north-west, the Highlands begin
to rise within a mile of the town. To some
other points (I speak exclusive of the coast- way)
there are from three to five or six miles of what
the natives call a flat country, by jcomparison
with the surrounding hills; but to you, who
have been always accustomed to the south of
England, this plain (as they deem it) would ap-
pear very rough and uneven.

I shall begin with the ruins of a fort* built
by Oliver Cromwell in the year 1653 or 1654,

* The fort which was built by Cromwell is now totally demo-
lished ; for no faction of Scotland loved the name of Cromwell, or
had any desire to continue his memory. — -Yet what the Romans
did to other nations, was in a great degree done by Cromwell to
the Scots: he civilized them by conquest, and introduced, by use-
ful violence, the arts of peace. I was told, at Aberdeen, that the
people learned from Cromwell's soldiers to make shoes and to
plant kail. — Johnsons Journey, Works, vol. viii. 234.

Neither Cromwell, nor those employed by him in Scotland, had

LETTER XI. 223

which, in his time, commanded the town, the
mouth of the river, and part of the country on
the land sides of it where there are no hills.
It lies something to the north-east of us, and
is washed by a navigable part of the Ness, near
its issue into the Murray Frith.

The figure of the out-work is a pentagon of
two hundred yards to a side, surrounded to land-
much civilization to spare'; and his violence in that country was
very far from useful. Of the battle of Worcester he says:
" Indeed it was a stiff business — a very glorious mercy — as stiff
a contest as I have ever seen." The citadel was stormed, and
1 ,500 put to the sword by Cromwell, provoked at their resistance.
Three thousand were slain on the field. Ten thousand prisoners
were taken in the town, or in the pursuit next day ; and when
driven to Lond n, such as survived the mortality of a crowded
prison, and the want of food, were shipped for the plantations. —
Laings Hist. vol. i. p. 427.

This is only one of the many " glorious mercies" of Cromwell
to the Scots; and the friends and relations of those who were the
objects of such mercies could not be much disposed to learn any
lesson, however good, from such a teacher. — The shoe-malting
is a silly story. In 1650, at the examination of a Lanarkshire
witch, one of the scenes is laid in a cottager's cale-yard, long be-
fore Cromwell visited Scotland. Before the dissolution of the
monasteries, their horticulture was as good as their climate would
admit of, and much better, by comparison with their neighbours,
than it is at present. Their principal clergy, having been mostly
educated on the Continent, introduced into their own domains the
improvements they had learnt the value of while abroad, and
others followed their example.

224 LETTER XI.

«

ward with a fosse, now almost filled up with rub-
bish. The rampart is not unpleasant for a walk
in a summer's evening, and among the grass
grow carraways that have often regaled my pa-
late, and of which the seeds are supposed to
have been scattered, by accident, from time out

of mind.

Oliver had 1,200 men in and near this citadel,

under the command of one colonel Fitz, who
had been a tailor, as I have been informed by a
very ancient laird, who said he remembered
every remarkable passage which happened at
that time, and, most especially, Oliver's colours,
which were so strongly impressed on his memory,
that he thought he then saw them spread out by
the wind, with the word Emmanuel (God with
us) upon them, in very large golden characters.

LETTER XII.

THE name of Oliver, I am told, continues still to
be used in some parts, as a terror to the children
of the Highlanders ; but, that is so common a
saying of others who have rendered themselves
formidable, that I shall lay no stress upon it.
He invaded the borders of the Highlands, and
shut the natives up within their mountains.
In several parts he penetrated far within, and
made fortresses and settlements among them ;
and obliged the proudest and most powerful
of the chiefs of clans, even such as had formerly
contended with their kings, to send their sons
and nearest relations as hostages for their peace-
able behaviour.

But, doubtless this success was owing, in
great measure, to the good understanding there
was at that time between England and France ;
otherwise it is to be supposed that the ancient
ally of Scotland, as it is called here, would have
endeavoured to break those measures, by hiring
and assisting the Scots to invade our borders,
in order to divert the English troops from

VOL. J. Q

226 LETTER XIT.

making so great a progress in this part of the
island.

Near the fort is the quay, where there are sel-
dom more than two or three ships, and those of
no great burden^.

About a mile westward from the town, there
rises, out of a perfect flat, a very regular hill ;
whether natural or artificial, I could never find
by any tradition ; the natives call it tomman-heu-
rach. It is almost in the shape of a Thames
wherry, turned keel upwards, for which reason
they sometimes call it Noah's Ark.

The length of it is about four hundred yards,
and the breadth at bottom about one hundred and
fifty. From below, at every point of view, it
seems to end at top in a narrow ridge ; but when
you are there, you find a plain large enough to
draw up two or three battalions of men.

Hither we sometimes retire in a summer's
evening, and sitting down on the heath, we beat
with our hands upon the ground, and raise a
most fragrant smell of wild thyme, pennyroyal,
and other aromatic herbs, that grow among the
heath: and as there is likewise some grass
among it, the sheep are fed the first; and when
they have eaten it bare, they are succeeded by
goats, which browse upon the sweet herbs that
are left untouched by the sheep.

1 mention this purely because I have often

LETTER XII. 227

heard you commend the Windsor mutton, sup-
posing its delicacy to proceed from those herbs ;
and, indeed, the notion is not uncommon.

But this is not the only reason why I speak
of this hill; it is the weak credulity with which
it is attended, that led me to this detail ; for a8
any thing, ever so little extraordinary, may
serve as a foundation (to such as are ignorant,
heedless, or interested) for ridiculous stories and
imaginations, so the fairies within it are innu-
merable, and witches find it the most convenient
place for their frolics and gambols in the night-
time.*

I am pleased when I reflect, that the notion of
witches is pretty well worn out among people
of any tolerable sense and education in England ;
but here it remains even among some that sit
judicially; and witchcraft and charming (as it is
called) make up a considerable article in the
recorded acts of the general assembly.

* Tomman-heurach, like all other hills of the kind in Scotland
and in Scandinavia, is full of fairies ; but our good neighbours,
as the Scots call them, are a nice, delicate, and sensitive people,
particularly jealous of any offensive intrusion upon their favourite
haunts ; and where they have obtained their privilege, neither
daemon, witch, ghost, nor goblin, need be feared. The moors of
Staffordshire and Derbyshire still swarm with fairies ; and all that
quarter of England ia infested by boggarts of all sorts ; but there
is nothing systematic in the notions entertained by the country
people respecting them.

Q 2

228 LETTER XII.

I am not unaware that here the famous trial r
at Hertford, for witchcraft, may be objected
to me.

It is true the poor woman was brought in
guilty by an ignorant, obstinate jury, but it was
against the sentiments of the judge, who, when
the minister of the parish declared, upon the
faith of a clergyman, he believed the woman to
be a witch, told him in open court, that there-
fore, upon the faith of a judge, he took him to
be no conjuror.

Thus you see, by the example of this clergy-
man, that ignorance of the nature of things
may be compatible with what is generally called
learning ; for 1 cannot suppose that, in a case of
blood, there could be any regard had to the
interest of a profession,*

* Man is a superstitious animal ; and there arc few found
who are not so in one way or other : even Cromwell and Buona-.
parte are shrewdly suspected of having been occasionally the
dupes of the quackeries by which they deceived others. During
the most violent times of the French revolution, when the people
were as blind and as bigotted in their impiety as ever they had
been in their superstition, and all belief in spiritual agency and
existence was discarded, there were in every street, lane, and
ward of Paris, cunning men and cunning women, who, avail-
ing themselves of the circumstances of the time, acquired wealth
by telling fortunes ; and their predictions were too often verified,
as they suggested the villanies and atrocities by which the wretches
who consulted them rose from obscurity and beggary to rank and

LETTER XII. 229

But perhaps the above assertion may be
thought a little too dogmatical; — I appeal to rea-
son and experience.

After all, the woman was pardoned by the
late queen (if any one may properly be said to
be forgiven a crime they never committed), and
a worthy gentleman in that county gave her an
apartment over his stables, sent her victuals
from his table, let her attend his children, and
she was looked upon, ever after, by the family
as an honest good-natured old woman.

But I shall now give an instance (in this
country) wherein the judge was not so cleai>
sighted.

aHuence. In the days of Elizabeth and James the First there
\\as no want of learning in England ; but the most difficult part
of learning is to unlearn, and few cared to part with the delu-
sions that had been their wonder and delight in the nursery.

In Scotland we have three distinct treatises upon this subject,
written by men of an inquisitive and philosophical turn, and of
undoubted learning, probity, and piety, who were, nevertheless,
faithful believers in the wonders which they detail ; they are ex-
ceedingly entertaining and interesting in many respects, and there-
fore well deserving of republication ; and, as they are very
scarce, we shall furnish their tit'es for the benefit of such as are
curious in collecting such things: —

"SECRET COMMONWEALTH; or, a Treatise displaying the
Chiefe Curiosities, as they are in Use among diverse of the Peo-
ple of Scotland to this day ; — Singularities for the most part pe-
culiar to that Nation. — A Subject not heretofore discoursed of by
any of our Writers ; and yet ventured on in an Essay to suppress

230 LETTER XII.

In the beginning of the year 1727, two poor
Highland women (mother and daughter), in the
shire of Sutherland, were accused of witch-
craft, tried, and condemned to be burnt. This
proceeding was in a court held by the deputy-
sheriff. The young one made her escape out of
prison, but the old woman suffered that cruel
death in a pitch-barrel, in June following, at
Dornoch, the head borough of that county.

In the introduction to the chapter under the
title of Witchcraft, in " Nelson's Justice," which
I have by me, there are these words : — " It
seems plain that there are witches, because
laws have been made to punish such offenders,

the impudent and growing Atheism of this Age, and to satisfie
the Desire of some choice friends. By Mr. Robert Kirk, Minister

at Aberfoill." This work was probably written about 1680,

and, in 1815, was printed at Edinburgh, for the first time, by
Ballantyne, 4to.. Only one hundred copies were printed, and
but from thirty to forty for sale.

" AEYTEPOXKOIIIA; or, a briefe Discourse concerning the
Second Sight, commonly so called. By the Reverend Mr. John
Frazer, late minister of Teree and Coll, and Dean of the Isles ;
published by Mr. Andrew Symson, with a short account of the
Author. Edinburgh, 1 707." In 8vo.

" A TREATISE ON THE SECOND SIGHT, DREAMS, APPARI-
TIONS, &c. ByTheophilusInsulanus." 8vo. Edinburgh, 1763. —
A great part of this last tract is reprinted along with Kirk's
Treatise ; and the three together would make a very curious
volume.

LETTER XII. 231

though few have been convicted of witchcraft."
Then he quotes one single statute, viz. 1 Jac.
•c. 12.

May not any one say, with just as much rea-
son, it seems plain there has been a phoenix,
because poets have often made it serve for a
simile in their writings, and painters have given
us the representation of such a bird in their
pictures ?

It is said those Highland women confessed :
but, as it is here a maxim that wizards and
witches will never acknowledge their guilt so
long as they can get any thing to drink, I
should not wonder if they owned themselves to
be devils, for ease of so tormenting a neces-
sity, when their vitals were ready to crack with
thirst.*

I am almost ashamed to ask seriously how it
€omes to pass that in populous cities, among

* Almost all who have been executed in Scotland for this
alleged crime have confessed, and their confessions are remarkably
uniform, particularly as to their carnal dealings with the devil.
This is not to be wondered at, as the report of the confession of
one produced similar impressions upon the disturbed imagination
of another, and none confessed till they were reduced to a state of
delirious and bewildered imbecility. Kept without sleep, and in-
cessantly tormented in their bodies by prickers, or in their minds
by the clergy; excluded from all but their tormentors; believing
what they had been told of others, although conscious of their

232 LETTER XII.

the most wicked and abandoned wretches, this
art should not be discovered; and yet that so
many little villages and obscure places should
be nurseries for witchcraft ? — But the thing
is not worth speaking of, any further than that'
it is greatly to be wished that any such law
should be annulled, which subjects the lives of
human creatures to the weakness of an ignorant
magistrate or jury, for a crime of which they
never had the power to be guilty; and this
might free them from the miseries and insults
these poor wretches suffer when unhappily fallen
under the imputation. In this county of Su-
therland, as I have been assured, several others
have undergone the same fate within the com-
pass of no great number of years.

I must own it is possible there may be some,
oppressed by poverty, and actuated by its con-
comitant envy, who may malign a thriving
neighbour so far as to poison his cattle, or pri-

own innocence ; hearing of nothing but horrors, — expecting no
mercy, and with the dread of the bale-fire continually before their
eyes, — when, worn out with sufferings, at last they were left
alone without fire, light, or comfort, in some dungeon, kirk-
steeple, or such place, there, in the state i.f partial derangement
to which they were reduced, there can be no doubt that they
dreamt of the pitiable absurdities which they afterwards believed
to be true, confessed, and were burnt for, while their nearest
relatives dared not, even to themselves, complain of the wrong.

LETTER XII. 233

vately do him other hurt in his property, for which
they may deserve the gallows as much as if they
did the mischief by some supernatural means;
but for such wicked practices, when discovered,
the law is open, and they ate liable to be pu-
nished according to the quality of the offence.

Witchcraft, if there were such a crime, I think
would be of a nature never to be proved by
honest witnesses : for who could testify they
saw the identical person of such a one riding in
the dark upon a broomstick through the air ; —
a human body, composed of flesh and bones,
crammed through a key hole ; — or know an old
woman through the disguise of a cat ? These
are some of the common topics of your wise
witchmongers !

But to be more serious : we have reason to
conclude, from several authentic relation of facts,
that this supposed crime has sometimes been
made a political engine of power, whereby to
destroy such persons as were to be taken off]
which could not otherwise be done with any
seeming appearance of justice : and who should
be fitter instruments to this purpose, than such,
who would be so wicked as for hire, and as-
surance of indemnity, to own themselves ac-
complices with the party accused ?

Notwithstanding this subject has led me
further than I at first intended to go, I must add

•

234 LETTER XII.

to it a complaint made to me about two months
since, by an Englishman who is here in a
government employment.

As he was observing the work of some car-
penters, who were beginning the construction
of a large boat, there came an old woman to get
some chips, who, by his description of her, was
indeed ugly enough. One of the workmen
rated her, and bid her be gone, for he knew she
was a witch. Upon that, this person took upon
him to vindicate the old woman, and, unluckily,
to drop some words as if there were none such.
Immediately two of them came up to him, and
held their axes near his head, with a motion as
if they were about to cleave his skull, telling him
he deserved death ; for that he was himself a
warlock, or wizard, which they knew by his
taking the witch's part. And he, observing their
ignorance and rage, got away from them as fast
as he could, in a terrible fright, and with a re-
solution to lay aside all curiosity relating to that
boat, though the men were at work not far from
his lodgings.*

* These wag» were not such fools as the Englishman took them
for. He attempted to be very wise upon their credulity, and they
made themselves very merry at the expence of his. They knew
fie considered them all as savages and murderers, and amused
themselves with his prejudice. — Had the fellow believed the
woman to be a witch, he would not have dared to rate her for it.

LETTER XII. 235

The greatest ornament we have in all the ad-
jacent country, is about a quarter of a mile from
the town, but not to be seen from it, by reason
of the castle-hill. It is an island about six hun-
dred yards long, surrounded by two branches
of the river Ness, well planted with trees of
different kinds, and may not unaptly be com-
pared with the island in St. James's Park ; all,
except fruit-trees, gravel-walks, and grass-
plots ; for I speak chiefly of its outward ap-
pearance, the beauty whereof is much increased
by the nakedness of the surrounding country
and the blackness of the bordering mountains.
For in any view hereabouts there is hardly ano-
ther tree to be seen, except about the houses of
two or three lairds, and they are but few.

Hither the magistrates conduct the judges
and their attendants, when they are upon their
circuit in the beginning of May ; and sometimes
such other gentlemen, to whom they do the
honours of the corporation by presenting them
with their freedom, if it happens to be in the
salmon season.

The entertainment is salmon, taken out of
the cruives just by, and immediately boiled and
set upon a bank of turf, the seats the same, not
unlike one of our country cock-pits ; and during
the time of eating, the heart of the fish lies upon
a plate in view, and keeps in a panting motion

236 LETTER XII.

all the while, which to strangers is a great ra-
rity. The cruives above the salmon leap (which is
a steep slope composed of large loose stones) are
made into many divisions by loose walls, and
have about three or four feet water. These
render such a number offish as they contain an
agreeable sight, being therein confined, to be
ready at any time for the barrel or the table.

I am told there was formerly a fine planted
avenue from the town to this island ; but one of
the magistrates, in his solitary walk, being shot
by a Highlander from behind the trees, upon
some clan quarrel, they were soon after cut
down; and indeed I think such kind of walks,
unless very near a house, are not the most suit-
able to this country : I do not mean on account
of robberies, but revenge.

In several places upon the heaths, at no great
distance from this town, and in other parts of
the country, there are large moorstones, set up
in regular circles one within another, with a
good space between each round. In some of
these groups there are only two such circles,
in others three ; and some of the stones in the
outermost ring are nine or ten feet high abore
the surface of the ground, and in bulk propor-
tionable.

How long time they have been in that situa-
tion nobody knows, or for what purpose they

LETTER XII. 237

were disposed in that order ; only some pre-
tend, by tradition, they were used as temples
for sacrifice in the time of the Romans; and
others have been taught, by that variable in-
structor, that they were tribunals for the trials
of supposed criminals in a Roman army.

What matter of wonder and curiosity their size
might be upon Hounslow Heath I do not know;
but here, among these rocks, by comparison,
they make no figure at all. Besides, the sol-
diers, by the force of engines and strength,
have raised stones as large, or larger, that lay
more than half buried under ground, in the lines
marked out for the new-projected roads ; and
they have likewise set them upright along the
sides of those ways.

Having chanced to mention the stones raised
out of the ground by the troops, I cannot for-
bear a little tattle concerning two officers that
are employed upon the new roads, as directors
of the work in different parts of the Highlands;
and, if you please, you may take it for a piece
of Highland news, for I am sure your public
papers often contain paragraphs altogether as
trifling, and not so true.

Upon one of these stones (surprisingly large
to be removed) one of those gentlemen em-
ployed a soldier, who is a mason by trade, to
engrave an inscription of his own making, in

238 LETTER Xll.

Latin, fearing, perhaps, his renown might wear
out with our language. The substance of it is,
the date of the year, time of the reign, director's
name, &c.

Some little time after this was done, the other
officer's party of men having raised out of the
ground a stone, as he thought, yet bigger than
the former, he began to envy his competitor's
foundation for fame, and applied himself to a
third officer (who had done several little poetical
pieces) to think of some words for his stone.
But I should tell you, that before he did so, it
had been remarked, he had too often boasted
of the exploit in the first version, viz.—" I raised
a larger stone than ," &c.

The poet-officer told him he would satisfy
him off-hand, and it should be in English, which
would be understood by more people than the
other's Latin, and by that means he would have
the advantage, of his rival, at least in that
particular.

But instead of his real name, I shall insert a
feigned one, and under that only disguise give
you the proposed inscription as follows :

" Hibern alone
Rais'd up this stone ;
Ah! Hone, Ah! Hone."

Upon this, the hero turned ridiculously grave ;
and, says he, " The soldiers did the slavish

BETTER xir. 23$

part only with their hands, but, in effect, it was
I that did it with my head : and therefore I do
not like any burlesque upon my performance."

One thing, which I take to be a curiosity in
its kind, had like to have escaped me, viz. a
single enclosed field, nearly adjoining to the
suburbs of this town, containing, as near as I
can guess, about five or six acres, called Fair-
field. This to the owner gives the title of laird of
Fair-field, and it would be a neglect or kind of
affront to call him by his proper name, but only
Fair-field. For those they call lairds in Scot-
land do not go by their surname ; but, as in
France, by the name of their house, estate, or
part of it. But if the lairdship be sold, the title
goes along with it to the purchaser, and nothing
can continue the name of it to the first posses-
sor but mere courtesy.

There are few estates in this country free
from mortgages and incumbrances(I wish I could
not sa.y the same of England) ; but the reason
given me for it, by some gentlemen of pretty
good estates, seems to be something extra-
ordinary.

They do not care to ascribe it to the poverty
of their tenants, from the inconsiderable farms
they occupy, or other disadvantages incident to
these parts ; but say it has proceeded from the
fortunes given with their daughters. Now the

240 LETTER XII.

portion or tocker, as they call it, of a laird's
eldest daughter, is looked upon to be a hand-
some one if it amounts to one thousand merks,
which is 55 /. 1 Is.l^d. sterling; and ten thousand
merks, or 555 /. 11s. \^d. is generally esteemed
no bad tocker for a daughter of the lower rank
of quality.

The Scots merk is thirteen-pence and one-
third of a penny of our money.

Having touched upon mortgages, which in
Scotland are called wadsetts, I shall say a few
words on that article.

By the canon law of Scotland all kind of
usury is prohibited ; but as the forbidding it is
very incommodious to a country, on account of
trade and husbandry, as well as to particular
persons, and besides, a law most easily evaded ;
there was a method contrived by the people,
whereby to sell their estates, with a conditional
right of redemption. This is called a proper
wadsett, where the mortgagee takes into posses-
sion so much land as will secure the principal
and interest of the money lent, and sometimes
more ; for which he is never to give account,
though there should be a surplus, but only to
return the lands to the former proprietor when
the principal sum is paid off.

LETTER XIII.

I SHALL now return to the neighbouring coun-
try. Here are but two houses of any note
within many miles of us, on this side the Murray
Frith ; one is the house of Culloden, which I
have mentioned in a former letter.

This is about two miles off, and is a pretty
large fabric, built with stone, and divided into
many rooms, among which the hall is very
spacious.

There are good gardens belonging to it, and
a noble planted avenue, of great length, that
leads to the house, and a plantation of trees
about it.

This house (or castle) was besieged, in the
year 1715, by a body of the rebels; and the
laird being absent in parliament, his lady baffled
all their attempts with extraordinary courage
and presence of mind.

Nearly adjoining are the parks — that is, one
large tract of ground, surrounded with a low
wall of loose stones, and divided into several
parts by partitions of the same. The surface

VOL. I. R

242 LfcTTER XIII.

of the ground is all over heath, or, as they call
it, heather, without any trees ; but some of it
has been lately sown with the seed of firs,
which are now grown about a foot and a half
high, but are hardly to be seen for the heath.

An English captain, the afternoon of the day
following his arrival here from London, desired
me to ride out with him, and show him the
parks of Culloden, without telling me the reason
of his curiosity. Accordingly we set out, and
when we were pretty near the place, he asked
me, — " Where are these parks ? For," says he,
"'there is nothing near in view but heath, and,
at a distance, rocks and mountains." I pointed
to the enclosure ; and, being a little way before
him, heard him cursing in soliloquy, which oc-
casioned my making a halt, and asking if any
thing had displeased him. Then he told me,
that, at a coffee-house in London, he was one
day commending the park of Studley, in York-
shire, and those of several other gentlemen in
other parts of England, when a Scots captain,
who was by, cried out — " Ah, sir ! but if you
were to see the parks at Culloden, in Scotland !"

This my companion repeated several times
with different modulations of voice; and then,
in an angry manner, swore, if he had known
how grossly he had been imposed on, he could
not have put up with so great an affront. But 1

HETTER XIII. 243

should have told you, that every one of the small
divisions above-mentioned is called a separate
park, and that the reason for making some of
the inner walls has been to prevent the hares,
with which, as Isaid before, the country abounds,
from cropping the tender tops of these young
firs, which, indeed, effectually spoils their re-
gular growth.

The other house I spoke of is not much fur~
ther distant from the contrary side of the town,
and belongs to the younger brother of the gen-
tleman above-mentioned ; he is lord-advocate, or
attorney- general, for Scotland : it is a good old
building, but not so large as the other; and
near it there is a most romantic wood, whereof
one part consists of great heights and hollows ;
and the brush-wood at the foot of the trees,
with the springs that issue out of the sides of the
hills, invite the woodcocks, which, in the season,
are generally there in great numbers, and render
it the best spot for cock-shooting that ever I
knew. Neither of these houses are to be seen
from any part near the town.

The gentleman, of whose house I have last
been speaking, were it not for a valetudinary
state of health, and the avocations of his office,
would be as highly pleased to see his friends
about him at table and over a bottle as his hos-
pitable brother.

ii 2

244 LETTER XIII.

In the spots of arable land near the town the
people sometimes plough with eight small beasts,
part oxen and part cows. They do not drive
them with a goad, as in England, but beat them
with a long stick, making a hideous Irish noise
in calling to them as they move along.

The poverty of the field labourers hereabouts
isdeplorable. I was one day riding out for air
and exercise, and in my way I saw a woman
cutting green barley in a little plot before her
hut : this induced me to turn aside and ask
her what use she intended it for, and she told
me it was to make bread for her family.

The grain was so green and soft that I easily
pressed some of it between my fingers ; so
that when she had prepared it, certainly it must
have been more like a poultice than what she
called it, bread. There was a gentleman with
me, who was my interpreter; and though he
told me what the woman said, yet he did not
seem greatly to approve of my curiosity.

Their harvest-labourers are often paid in kind,
viz. oats or barley; and the person thus paid
goes afterwards about with the sheaves, to sell
them to such as will purchase them. If they
are paid in money, their wages is two-pence
halfpenny or three-pence a-day and their din-
ner, which I suppose is oatmeal.

There is no other sort of grain hereabouts,

LETTER XIII. 245

besides oats, barley, and beer, which last is an
inferior species of barley, but of greater increase.
A field of wheat would be as great a rarity as a
nightingale in any part of Scotland, or a cat-o'-
mountain in Middlesex. And yet I have seen
good wheat in some of the Lowland part of the
shire of Murray ; which is, indeed, but a narrow
space between the sea and the mountains not
very far south of us. It is true, a certain gentle-
man,not far from the coast, in the county of Ross,
which is further north than we are, by favour of
an extraordinary year, and a piece of new
ground, raised some wheat; but he made so
much parade of it, that the stack stood in his
court-yard till the rats had almost devoured it.
This, and a good melon he treated me with,
which was raised under a rock facing the south,
and strongly reflecting the heat of the sun, so
equally flattered him, that he afterwards made
use of me as a witness of both upon several
occasions. But melons may be produced in
Lapland.

In the Lowlands of Scotland I have seen, in
many places, very fertile land, good wheat, and
oats in particular, much better than ever I saw
of the growth of England. But, perhaps, you
will imagine that, as oatmeal serves for bread,
and, in other shapes, for most part of the rest of
the ordinary people's diet, they are more care*

246 LETTER" XI If.

ful in the choice of the seed than our farmers
are, who know their oats are chiefly used as pro-
vender for cattle ; but, I think, in some parts of
the country, the soil is peculiarly adapted to that
kind of grain.

In some remote parts of England I have seen
bread for the field labourers, and other poor
people, so black, so heavy, and so harsh, that the
bonnack, as they call it (a thin oatmeal cake
baked on a plate over the fire), may, by com-
parison, be called a pie-crust.*

By the small proportion the arable lands here-
abouts bear to the rocky grounds and barren
heaths, there is hardly a product of grain suffi-
cient to supply the inhabitants, let the year be

- *• Oatmeal, although nutritive, is too heating for most stomachs ;
and among the labouring classes, even the most healthy, heart-
burn is a very general complaint, without their being aware of
the cause of it. Our author seems not to have known, that in
Wales, and a great part of the north and west of England, oat-
cake was very commonly eaten, as it is at this day. From the
manner in which it is usually prepared in Wales, like the jannock-
bread of Lancashire, it is coarser and less palatable than the
Scotish; but in some parts of England, particularly Cheshire'
Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire, k is leavened, and
poured out upon the hake-stone like a pancake. The acidity
takes off its bitterness, and makes it cooling and salutary.

In the north Lowlands of Scotland, old fashioned country people
still prepare against yule time (Christmas), loaves of leavened rye-
bread (which in Murray is called poose), such as is generally
eaten all over the North of Europe ; and also leavened cakes, as

LETTER XIII. 247

ever so favourable ; and, therefore, any ill .acci-
dent that happens to their growth, or harvest,,
produces a melancholy effect. I have known, in,
such a circumstance, the town in a consternation
for want of oatmeal, when shipping has been
retarded, and none to be procured in these parts
(as we say) for love or money.

There are but few in this town that eat wheat-
bread, besides the English and those that belong
to them, and some of the principal inhabitants,
but not their servants. Among the English* I
think I may include good part of the private
soldiers, that are working men.

All the handicraft tradesmen have improved
their skill in their several occupations, by ex-

thin as a wafer, of soured oatmeal. This is a relique of pagan
times, derived from our Scandinavian ancestors. In Scotland,
the loaf is not now mou'ded into any particular form; but, among
the Scandinavians, the yule loaves were emblematic of the season,
with mythical and astronomical allusions. The most important
figure was that of a boar, with gilded bristles, the emblem of
Vanur, the Apollo of the Goths ; the gilded bristles on the back
being supposed to resemble the appearance of the sun rising above
the horizon. The term yule, is originally the same as the English
wheel, and means a turning (?. e. of the sun) ; the yule festival
having been instituted, like the Saturnalia of the Romans, to cele-
brate the winter solstice, with the turn of the sun and the reno-
vation of the year. As the leavened cake is considered a sort
of luxury (certainly a cheap one!), it is singular that the Scotish
peasantry have never thought of using it more than once in the
year.

248 LETTER XI 11.

ample of the workmen among the troops, who
are often employed by the inhabitants as jour-
neymen ; and in particular the bakers, whose
bread, I think, is not inferior to that of London,*
except when their flour is grown, or musty,
when imported. This sometimes happens ; but
they are too national to hold any correspond-
ence but with their countrymen, who, I think,
have not the same regard for them, but study
too carefully their own extraordinary profit. —
I am speaking of such as have their goods from
England.

This brings to my remembrance an observa-
tion I met with in London a good many years
ago, and that is, what an advantage the Scots,
the Quakers, and the French refugees, have
over the generality of trading people in England,
since they all confine the profit of their dealings,
so far as ever they can, within their respective
circles; and moreover have an equal chance
for trading-profit with all others who make no
such partial distinction ; and therefore it was
no wonder they throve accordingly.

* The Scots had attained great perfection in the art of baking,
ifrom the French, two centuries at least before our author's time.
A baker in Scotland is corn-factor, bread-baker, biscuit-baker,
and pastry-cook ; which enables so many of them to succeed so
well in London, as they are equally prepared for either branch
Jhat seems most promising.

LETTER XIII. 249

1 happened lately, upon a certain occasion,
to mention this to an old officer in the army,
who thereupon told me he had observed,
through all the quarters in England, that if
there were any Scots tradesmen or shopkeepers
in a country town, the new-comers of that na-
tion soon found them out, and would deal with
no others, so far as they could be served or
supplied by them.

This, I think, is carrying it too far, and teach-
ing an ill lesson against themselves. And we,
on the other hand, are accused of the contrary
extreme, which is an unnational neglect (if I
may use such an expression) of one another,
when we happen to meet in foreign countries.

But to return. — When the flour is musty*
they mingle seeds with the dough, to overcome
the disagreeable smell and taste. This I have
likewise met with in Edinburgh and other-
great towns of the Low-country.

About the time of one great scarcity here,
the garrison of Fort William, opposite to us on
the west coast, was very low in oatmeal, and
the little hovel-town of Maryburgh, nearly ad-
joining to it, was almost destitute.

Some affairs at that time called me to the
fort ; and, being at the governor's house, one of
the townswomen came to his lady, and besought
her to use her interest that she might be spared

250 BETTER XIII.

out of the stores, for her money, or to repay it
in kind, only one peck of oatmeal to keep her
children from starving ; for that there was none
to be sold in the town, or other food to be had
whatever. The lady, who is one of the best
and most agreeable of women, told her she
feared her husband could not be prevailed on
to part with any at that time. This, she said,
as knowing that kind of provision was almost
exhausted, and a great number of mouths to
be fed ; that there was but a very precarious
dependance upon the winds for a supply, and
that other sea accidents might happen ; but to
show her good will, she gave her a shilling. The
poor woman, holding up the money, first looked
at that in a musing manner, then at the lady,
and bursting out into tears, cried — " Madam,
what must I do with this ? My children cannot
eat it!" And laid the shilling down upon the
table in the greatest sorrow and despair. It,
would be too trite to remark upon the useless-
ness of money, when it cannot be bartered for
something absolutely necessary to life. But I
do assure you I was hardly ever more affected
with distress than upon this occasion, for I
never saw such an example of it before.*

* A gentleman residing in the Highlands related to Mr. Knox
a similar occurrence, to show the wretched extremities of the
people formerly during scarce seasons. " A poor farmer from a

LETTER XIII. 251

I must not leave you in suspense. The go-
vernor, commiserating the poor woman's cir-
cumstances, spared her that small quantity ; and
then the passion of joy seemed more unruly in
the poor creature's breast than all her grief
and fear had been before.

Some few days afterwards, a ship that had
lain wind-bound in the Orkneys, arrived ; and
upon my return hither, I found there had been
a supply likewise by sea from the Low-country.

I shall make no apology for going a little out
of my way to give you a short account of the
fortress of Fort- William, and the town of Mary-
burgh that belongs to it ; because, upon a like
occasion, you gave me a hint in one of your
letters, that such sudden starts of variety were
agreeable to you.

distant part of the country appeared at his gate, with three small
horses reduced to skeletons, imploring three bolls of meal for his*
family and neighbours, who, having exhausted their stock, had
collected three guineas for this purchase. The gentleman had a
few bolls left, but felt it due to his own neighbours to withhold it.
and recommended the man to go to Inverness. The poor man
went away greatly dejected; but in a few days appeared again,
stating that neither grain nor meal could be obtained there.
This account of the scarcity at Inverness rendered the gentleman
still more unwilling to comply with the request. At length^
however, the simple eloquence of distress prevailed with him,
and he ordered the man a boll of meal as a gratuity."

Knoxs View of the Brit. Empire, vol. ii. 443.

252 LETTER XIII.

The fort is situated in Lochaber, a country
which, though bordering upon the Western
Ocean, yet is within the shire of Inverness.
Oliver Cromwell made there a settlement, as I
have said before ; but the present citadel was
built in the reign of King William and Queen
Mary, and called after the name of the king.
It was in great measure originally designed as a
check upon the chief of the Camerons, a clan
which, in those days, was greatly addicted to
pi under, and strongly inclined to rebellion.

It stands in a most barren rocky country, and
is washed on one of the faces of the fortification
by a navigable arm of the sea. It is almost
surrounded, on the land sides, with rivers, not
far distant from it, which, though but small, are
often impassable from their depth and rapidity.
And lastly, it is near the foot of an exceedingly
high mountain, called Ben-Nevis, of which I
may have occasion to say something in some
future letter, relating particularly to the High-
country. The town was erected into a barony
in favour of the governor of the fort for the time
being, and into a borough bearing the name of
Queen Mary. It was originally designed as a
sutlery to the garrison in, so barren a country,
where little can be had for the support of the
troops.

The houses were neither to be built with stone

LETTER XI 1 1. 253

nor brick, and are to this day composed of tim-
ber, boards, and turf. This was ordained, to the
end they might the more suddenly be burnt, or
otherwise destroyed, by order of the governor,
to prevent any lodgment of an enemy that
might annoy the fort, in case of rebellion or
invasion.*

In your last letter you desire to know of me
what is the qualification of fortune required of
the elector and elected to a seat in parliament for
a county or borough in Scotland.

This induces me to believe the baronet is
either gone into Bedfordshire, or come to
Edinburgh.

What you now require of me is one, arnon<*
many, of those articles I have left out of my
account, concluding you might have met with it
in some treatise of the constitution of Scotland ;
for I intended, from the beginning, to give you
nothing but what I suppose was no where else
to be found. And now I shall endeavour to
satisfy your curiosity in that point, according
to the best information I have obtained.

One and the same qualification is required of
a voter and a candidate for a county, which is
400 /. Scots, or 33 /. 6s. Sd. sterling per annum,

* This is the case in the suburbs of all regularly-fortified place-: ;
hut as the fort is now useful only as barracks, the inhabitants of
Marvburdi bnild with stone and lime.

254 LETTER Xllf.

according to the old rent, or as they stand rated
on the king's books. These are called barons :
and none others vote for the shires, except
some few in the county of Sutherland, where
several of the old voters, refusing to pay their
quota of 61. 13s. 4d. Scots, or 11*. \\d. ster-
ling per diem, for the maintenance of their re-
presentative in time of the session, others were
willing to be taxed in their stead, provided they
might have the privilege of voting, which they
obtained thereby, to the exclusion of the former.

The magistrates and town-council elect mem-
bers to represent the boroughs, or corporation-
towns; and there is neither land nor money
qualification required either of the candidate or
electors.

This letter brings you the conclusion of my
chat, in relation to this town and the country
near it, having at present exhausted my memory
as well as my written remarks on that head.
In my next I shall begin my account of the
Highlands, which I hope will be something more
grateful to your curiosity than I think the for-
mer could possibly be ; but if, in my mountain-
progress, any thing new and worth your notice
relating to these parts should happen, either by
occurrence or recollection, you may expect a
separate letter by way of supplement. But
what am I saying? This very moment a

LETTER XIII. 255

thought has obtruded, which tells me, that, when
I was speaking of our hunting and fowling, I
did not remember to acquaint you that it is no
uncommon thing, when the mountains are deep
in snow, for us to see hares almost as white,*
which descend into these plains for sustenance ;
but although we have hunted several of them
for awhile, yet always without success, for
they keep near the feet of the hills, and, imme-
diately on being started, make to the heights,
where the scent is lost, and they baffle all pur-
suit.

As white rabbits are common in England,
and our ideas arise from what we know, you
may think, perhaps, we have been deceived;
but that cannot be, for there is not a rabbit in
all the country ; and besides, if there were any,
we have been too near those hares at starting
to be mistaken in that particular : but this is
not the only thing of the kind ; snow sends
down from the mountains large flights of small
birds, about the size of larks or something big-
ger, and very white, which they are not in sum-

* This remarkable phenomenon occurs commonly in the colder
climates ; in countries bordering on the norlh pole, hares, as well
as most other animals, become white in winter, and are often
seen in great troops of four or five hundred, running along the
banks of the river Irtysh, or the Jenisa, and as white as the snow
they tread on. — Goldsmith's Animated Nature* vol. iii. 1 16.

256 LETTER Xin.

mer, any more than the mountain- hare. These
have here no other name than snmu^birds.

It should seem as if nature changed the
coats of these creatures, that they might not
be too easy a prey to the foxes, wild cats, ea-
gles, and hawks, as they would be from distant
views, in time of snow, if they retained in win-
ter their natural colour : but in general nature
has been provident in rendering difficult the
finding of animals pleasing to mankind for food,
diversion, and exercise, as you may have ob-
served in England; the hare, the partridge,
woodcock, fieldfare, &c. are all, by their clothing,
in good measure suited to their respective haunts
and places of concealment ; and some of them,
one might almost think, were sensible of the
advantage, when we see them lie without mo-
tion till they they are almost trod upon, as if
knowing that action would catch the eye, and,
being motionless, they should continue con-
cealed by their resembling colour.*

* Since the introduction of sheep upon the mountains this spe-
cies of hare is becoming scarce ; it is improperly denominated the
Alpine hare, as it has no predilection for elevated situations, any
further than as a cold climate agrees best with its temperament.
In running up-hill, when pursued, it only avails itself of the
advantage of its short fore-legs, as other hares do. It is found
in great numbers all over the northern parts of the Russiaa
empire, where there is not a mountain to be found. Its flesh is
said by the Highlander* to be good, perhaps because it is a rarity,

LETTER XIIT. 257

I shall never entertain the least doubt of
your sincere intentions in every thing ; but,
since I received your last letter, which relates to
this prattle, I cannot but be apprehensive your
favourable opinion of it proceeds less from your
satisfaction than a friendly partiality to — — ,
&c.

at least the present writer's recollection of it disposes him to
think so. In Russia they are rather larger, and their flesh more
coarse and dry than that of the common hare. Rabbits abound in
the Lowlands ; and some of the Hebrides, where the surface is
Sat, and the soil dry and sandy, swarm with them. Canna is sup-
posed to take its name from this circumstance. The mountains
are too rocky and moist for them.

The snow-bird, snow-bunting, or snow-fleck (so called from
the flecked or speckled appearance a flock of them lighting on the
snow produces), comes from Norway ; in the southern counties
they do not show much white when the wings are closed ; but,
in the north of Europe, they become white as snow and very
beautiful, as the neck of a fine cock bird shines like polished
silver. They feed and roost like the lark, but will also perch
upon trees, and are said to sing delightfully, which we have never
heard, nor ever met with any one that had.

VOL. I.

* 'j LETTER XIV.

^

IN my last letter relating to this northern part

of the Low-country, I promised (notwithstand-
ing I should be engaged on the subject of the
Highlands) to give you an account of any thing
else that should fall out by the way, or recur to
my memory ; but whether this letter is to be
placed to the High or Low-country I leave you to
determine, and I think it is not very material.

Some time ago a Highlander was executed
here for murder, and I am now about to give
you some account of his education, character,
and behaviour ; and I flatter myself I shall do
it at least as much to your satisfaction as the
reverend historiographer of Newgate.

You know I have rallied you several times
before now upon your bestowing, as I thought,
too much attention upon that kind of narrative,
viz. the session-papers and last dying speeches.

This man was by trade a smith, and dwelt
near an English foundery in Glengary, which
lies between this town and Fort William, of
which iron-work I shall have some occasion to

LETTER XIV. 259

speak more particularly before I conclude this
letter.

The director of that work had hired a smith
from England, and as it is said that kings and
lovers can brook no partners, so neither could
the Highlander suffer the rivalship of one of
his own trade, and therefore his competitor was
by him destined to die. One night he came
armed to the door of the Englishman's hut
with intent to kill him ; but the man being, for
some reason or other, apprehensive of danger,
had fastened the door of his hovel more firmly
than usual, and, while the Highlander was em-
ployed to force it open, he broke a way through
the back wall of his house and made his
escape, but, being pursued, he cried out for as-
sistance ; this brought a Lowland Scots work-
man to endeavour to save him, and his gene-
rous intention cost him his life. Upon this
several others took the alarm and came up with
the murderer, whom they tried to secure ; but
he wounded some of them, and received se-
veral wounds himself; however, he made his
escape for that time. Three days afterwards
he was hunted out, and found among the heath
(which was then very high), where he had lain
all that time with his wounds rankling, and
without any sustenance, not being able to get
away, because a continual search was made all

s 2

260 LETTER XIV.

round about both night and day, and for the
most part within his hearing; for it is more
difficult to find a Highlander among the heather,
except newly tracked, than a hare in her form.

He was brought to this town and committed
to the tolbootk, where sentinels were posted to
prevent his second escape, which otherwise,
in all probability, would have been effected.

Some time afterwards the judges, in their
circuit, arrived here, and he was tried and con-
demned. Then the ministers of the town went
to the jail to give him their ghostly advice, and
endeavoured to bring him to a confession of his
other sins, without which they told him he
could not hope for redemption. For, besides
this murder, he was strongly suspected to have
made away with his former wife, with whose
sister he was known to have had too great a fa-
miliarity. But when the ministers had said all
that is customary concerning the merit of con-
fession, he abruptly asked them, if either or all
of them could pardon him, in case he made a
confession : and when they had answered — " No,
not absolutely," he said, " You have told me,
God can forgive me." They said it was true-
" Then," said he, " as you cannot pardon me, I
have nothing to do with you, but will confess to
Him that can."

A little while after, a smith of this town was

LETTER XIV. 261

sent to take measure of him, in order to make his
irons (for he was to be hanged in chains), and,
while the man was doing it, the Highlander,
with a sneer, said — " Friend, you are now about
to do a job for a better workman than yourself;
I am certain I could fit you better than you
can me."

When the day for his execution came (which,
by a late law, could not be under forty days after
his condemnation), and I had resolved to stay
at home, though perhaps I should have been the
only one in the town that did so ; — I say having
taken that resolution, a certain lieutenant-colo-
nel, who is come into these parts to visit his
friends, and is himself a Highlander, for whom
I have the greatest esteem ; he came to me,
and would have me bear him company, declar-
ing, at the same time, that although he had a
great desire to see how the criminal would be-
have, yet he would wave all that, unless I would
go with him ; and, therefore, rather] than dis-
oblige my friend, I consented, but I assure you
with reluctancy.

The criminal was a little fellow, but a fearless
desperado ; and having annexed himself to the
clan of the Camerons, the magistrates were ap-
prehensive that some of the tribe might attempt
his rescue ; and therefore they made applica-
tion to the commanding officer for a whole com-

262 LETTER XIV.

pany of men to guard him to the place of exe-
cution with greater security.

Accordingly they marched him in the centre,
with two of the ministers, one on each side, talk-
ing to him by turns all the way for a mile together.
But I, not being accustomed to this sort of
sights, could not forbear to reflect a little upon
the circumstance of a man walking so far on
foot to his own execution.

The gibbet was not only erected upon the
summit of a hill, but was itself so high that it
put me in mind of Haman's gallows.

Being arrived at the place, and the ministers
having done praying by him, the executioner, a
poor helpless creature, of at least eighty years of
age, ascended the ladder. Then one of the magis-
trates ordered the malefactor to go up after him;
upon which the fellow turned himself hastily
abovit; says he, " 1 did not think the magistrates
of Inverness had been such fools, as to bid a
man go up a ladder with his hands tied behind
him." And, indeed,! thought the great burgher
looked very silly, when he ordered the fellow's
hands to be set at liberty.

When the knot was fixed, the old hangman
(being above the criminal) began to feel about
with his feet to find some footing whereby to
come down beside the other, in order to turn
him off, which I think could hardly have been

LETTER XIV. 263

done by a young fellow the most nimble and
alert, without getting under the ladder, and
coming down chiefly by his hands.

Thus the Highlander, feeling the executioner
fumbling about him, in a little time seemed to
lose all patience ; and turning himself about,
with his face from the ladder, and his cap over
his eyes, he cried out upon the Trinity, which I
dare say he had never heard of before he was
committed prisoner for this fact, and then
jumped off the ladder. And though his hands
were free, there did not appear in them, or any
other part of his body, the least motion or con-
vulsion, any more than if he had been a statue.

It is true, I could not compare this with other
things of the same kind, but I thought it a very
bungling execution, yet liked the cause of their
unskilfulness.

His mother, who, it seems, is a very vile wo-
man, and had bred him up in encouragement
to thieving and other crimes, was present, lying
on the heath at some little distance, when he
leaped from the ladder ; and at that instant set
up such a hideous shriek, followed by a scream-
ing Irish howl, that every body seemed greatly
surprised at the uncommon noise; and those
who knew the woman, loaded her with curses
for being the cause of this shameful end of her

264 LETTER XIV.

son, who, they said, was naturally a man of
good sense.

To conclude this subject. The smith who
had made the irons (I suppose frighted at the
execution) had run away, leaving his tools behind
him ; and one of the magistrates was forced to
rivet them, there being none other that would
undertake so shameful a work for any reward
whatever.

But I had forgot to acquaint you that my
friend the colonel, as we stood together all the
while, favoured me with the interpretation of
that which passed, and most particularly what
was said by the criminal, who could not speak
one word of English.

You have now had a view of two tragic
scenes, viz. one at Glengary, and the other
(being the catastrophe) near Inverness ; — at
this time a new subject calls upon me to with-
draw the latter scene, and restore the former,
which represents Glengary.

Some few years ago, a company of Liverpool
merchants contracted with the chieftain of this
tribe, at a great advantage to him, for the use of
his woods and other conveniencies for the
smelting of iron ; and soon after, they put their
project in execution, by building of furnaces,
sending ore from Lancashire, &c.

«£

LETTER XIV. 265

By the way, I should tell you that those works
were set up in this country merely for the sake
of the woods, because iron cannot be made from
the ore with sea or pit coal, to be malleable and
fit for ordinary uses.

The dwelling-house of this chieftain had been
burnt by the troops in the year 1715 ; but the
walls, which were of stone, remained; and there-
fore the director of the above-mentioned works
thought it convenient to fit it up with new tim-
ber, for the use of himself or his successors,
during the term of the lease.

This being effectually done, a certain number
of gentlemen of the tribe * came to him one

* Mrs. Murray thus relates a remarkable instance of the du-
plicity of former times. — " One of the M'Donnells, of old pro-
bably from Lochaber, coming down to visit Culloden near Inver-
ness, observed how numerous and how fine his cattle were. Cui-
loden lamented that in all probability he should not have sufficient
pasture f«)r them during the winter. M'Donnell eyed the cattle,
and told his friend he could accommodate him in that matter, if h'<?
wished it, he having fine pasture in abundance. The bargain
was made for so much a -head for a stated time, and M'Donnell
promised to take the utmost care of the beasts, if Culloden would
have them driven up to his lands ; which was accordingly done.
In about two months a man from M'Donnell came down with a
long face, saying " his chief was in great trouble and dismay at
Culloden's cattle having been all stolen and driven away." Cul-
loden, who perfectly well understood the meaning of all this, with-
out expressing either anger or concern, ordered his head servant
to take great care of this messenger, and ply him well with meat

266 LETTER XIV.

evening, on a seeming friendly visit, whom he
treated in a generous manner, by giving them
his best wines and provisions. Among other
things (though a quaker by his religious prin-
ciples, yet is he a man of polite behaviour), he
said to them something to this purpose (for he
told me himself how he had been used) : " Gen-
tlemen, you have given me a great deal of pleasure
in this visit ; and when you all, or any of you,
will take the trouble to repeat it, let it be when
it will, you shall be welcome to any thing that
is in my house"

Upon those two last words, one of them cried
out — " G— d d — n you, sir ! your house ? I
thought it had been Glengary's house !" And
upon those watch-words they knocked out the

and drink. After a day or two, the man signified he nmst return.
Culloden, before he departed, called him before him ; and with-
out saying a syllable of the cattle, asked him if he had been treated
to his heart's content, gave him money, and dismissed him. The
messenger returned to M'Donnell, and said to him drily — " the
man must have his cattle back again !" This peremptory speech
astonished the Highland chief, who remonstrated ; but the other
insisted, and swor^e if he did not comply he would blaze abroad
his roguery, and oblige him to it by force. M'Donnell knew his
man, and the consequences if he continued obstinate ; he therefore
quietly submitted, and in a short time sent the same person again
to Culloden, to acquaint him that he was very happy in having
overtaken and rescued his cattle from the thieves who had driven
them away." — Murray ', vol. i. 250.

LETTER XIV. 267

candles, fell upon him, wounded him, and got
him down among them ; but he being strong
and active, and the darkness putting them in
confusion lest they should wound one another,
he made a shift to slip from them in the bustle,
and to gain another room. This he immediately
barricaded, and cried out at the window to his
workmen, that were not far off, who running to
arm themselves and hasten to his assistance,
those gentlemen made off.*

It only now remains that I make some little
animadversion upon this rancorous, treacherous,
and inhospitable insult, which, but for an acci-
dent, it is much more than probable, would have
gone by another name.

Notwithstanding this house was repaired by
consent of the chief, and, in course of time, he
would have the benefit of so great an expence,
yet an English trader dwelling in the casile, as
they call it, when at the same time the laird in-
habited a miserable hut of turf, as he did, and
does to this day; — this, I say, was intolerable
to their pride ; and as it was apparently their
design at rirst to raise a quarrelle (TAllemand
(a wrong-headed quarrel), whatever other words
he had used, they would have found some
among them that they might wrest to their in-
human purpose. But those words (my house)

* See extracts from the Gartmore MS. in the Appendix.

*26S LETTER XIV,

unluckily served in an eminent degree to pro-
voke their rage, — as a lunatic, who is reasonable
by intervals, returns to his ravings when any
one touches upon the cause of his madness.
However, some good arose from this evil"; for,
upon complaint made, the chieftain was
threatened with a great number of troops to
be quartered upon him, and by that means the
Liverpool company obtained some new advan-
tageous conditions to be added to their original
contract, which have made some amends for
the bad usage of their manager and partner :
and since that time he has met with no ill
treatment from any of the tribe, except some
little pilferings, which might have happened
any where else.

I am next to give you a conversation-piece,
which, with its incidents, I foresee will be
pretty spacious ; but I shall make no apology
for it, because I know your leisure hours to be
as many as my own.

I have often heard it urged, as an undeniable
argument for the truth of incredible stones,
that the number and reputed probity of the
witnesses to the truth of a fact is, or ought to be,
sufficient to convince the most incredulous.
And I have known the unbeliever to be treated
by the greatest part of a company as an infidel,
or, at best, as a conceited sceptic ; and that

LETTER XIV. 2G9

only because he could not, without a hypocri-
tical complaisance, own his assent to the truth
of relations the most repugnant to reason and
the well-known laws and operations of nature.

The being accused of unreasonable unbelief
was, some time ago, my own circumstance ; and
perhaps I have suffered in my character, as a
Christian (though Christianity has nothing to
do with it), by disputing the truth of a tale,
which I thought nobody above the ordinary run
of unthinking people could have believed — if
upon trust, without examination, may be called
believing.

Upon making my first visit to a certain lord
not many miles from this town, I found there
one of our ministers of the Gospel ; for so they
call themselves, very probably for a distinction
between them and ministers of state.

This gentleman, being in a declining way in
his constitution, had been invited by our lord
(who I make no doubt has some particular view
in making his court to the Presbyterian clergy),
— I say this invitation to him was, to pass some
time in the hills for the benefit of the mountain
air. Butthis was not a compliment to him alone,
but likewise to the whole town ; for I do assure
you none could be more esteemed than this mi-
nister, for his affable temper, exemplary life,
and what they call sound doctrine. And for

270 LETTER XIV.

my own part, I verily think, from some of what
I am about to recite, that he was a true believe?* ;
for I do not in the least suspect him of falsehood,
it being so foreign to his known character.

In the evening, our noble host, with the minis-
ter and myself, sat down to a bottle of cham
paign. And after the conversation had turned
upon several subjects, (I do not remember how,
but) witchcraft* was brought upon the carpet.
By the way, I did intend, after what I have
formerly said upon that frivolous subject, never
to trouble you with it again. — But to my present
purpose.

After the minister had said a good deal con-
cerning the wickedness of such a diabolical
practice as sorcery ; and that I, in my turn, had
declared my opinion of it, which you knew
many years ago ; he undertook to convince me
of the reality of it by an example, which is as
follows :

A certain Highland laird had found himself at
several times deprived of some part of his wine,

* Witchcraft was the popular belief during the reign of James,
who, having fitted a sumptuous ship for the purpose of bringing
his " queen, our gracious lady, was detained and stopped by the
conspiracies of witches and such devilish dragons ; " and, upon the
accusation that they had attempted to raise tempests to intercept
him, several unfortunate persons were tried and executed in win-
ter 1591. — Lord Somerss Tracts, vol. ii. 180.

LETTER XIV. 271

and having as often examined his servants about
it, and none of them confessing, but all denying
it with asseverations, he was induced to con-
clude they were innocent.

The next thing to consider was, how this could
happen. " Rats there were none to father .the
theft. Those, you know, according to your
philosophical next-door neighbour, might have
drawn out the corks with their teeth, and then
put in their tails, which, being long and spun-
geous, would imbibe a good quantity of liquor.
This they might suck out again, and so on, till
they had emptied as many bottles as were suffi-
cient for their numbers and the strength of their
heads." But to be more serious : — I say, there
was no suspicion of rats, and it was concluded
it could be done by none but witches.

Here the new inquisition was set on foot, and
who they were was the question ; but how should
that be discovered ? To go the shortest way to
work, the laird made choice of one night, and an
hour when he thought it might be watering- time
with the hags ; and went to his cellar without a
light, the better to surprise them. Then, with
his naked broad-sword in his hand, he suddenly
opened the door, and shut it after him, and fell to
cutting and slashing all round about him, till, at
last, by an opposition to the edge of his sword, he
concluded he had at least wounded one of them.

272 LETTER XIV.

But I should have told you, that although the
place was very dark, yet he made no doubt, by
the glare and flashes of their eyes, that they were
cats; but, upon the appearance of a candle, they
were all vanished, and only some blood left upon
the floor. I cannot forbear to hint in this place
at Don Quixotte's battle with the borachios of
wine.

There was an old woman, that lived about
two miles from the laird's habitation, reputed to
be a witch: her he greatly suspected to be one
of the confederacy, and immediately he hasted
away to her hut ; and, entering, he found her
lying upon her bed, and bleeding excessively.

This alone was some confirmation of the just-
ness of his suspicion ; but casting his eye under
the bed, there lay her leg in its natural form!*

I must confess 1 was amazed at the conclusion

* The last instance of national credulity on this head, was the
story of the witches of Therso, who, tormenting for a long time an
honest fellow, under the usual form of cats, at last provoked him
so, that one night he put them to flight with his broad-sword, and
rut off the leg of one less nimble than the rest. On his taking it
up, to his amazement he found it belonged to a female of his own
species, and next morning discovered the owner, an old hag with
only the companion-leg to this. The horrors of the tale were
considerably abated in the place I heard it, by an unlucky inquiry
made by one in the company, viz. " In what part would the old
woman have suffered had the man cut off the cat's tail?" But
these relations of almost obsolete superstition must ever be thought

LETTER XIV. 273

of this narration; but ten times more when, with
the most serious air, he assured me that he had
seen a certificate of the truth of it, signed by four
ministers of that part of the country, and could
procure me a sight of it in a few days, if I had
the curiosity to see it.

When he had finished his story, I used all the
arguments I was master of, to show him the ab-
surdity to suppose a woman could be trans-
formed into the shape and diminutive substance
of a cat ; to vanish like a flash of fire ; carry her
leg home with her, &c. : and I told him, that if
a certificate of the truth of it had been signed by
every member of the general assembly, it would
be impossible for me (however strong my incli-
nation were to believe) to bring my mind to
assent to it. And at last I told him, that if it
could be supposed to be true, it might be ranked
in one's imagination among the most eminent

a reflection on this country, as long as any memory remains of the
tragical end of the poor people at Tring, who, within a few miles
of our capital, in 1751, fell a sacrifice to the belief of the common
people ia witches. — Pennant's Tow, vol. i. 189.

The common nursery edition of this idle adventure says, that
it was a young man who undertook, by way of bravado, and in
defiance of witches, to roast a live cat upon a hazel spit, at mid-
night, in a solitary hut; and that it was the arm of his bride, with
the betrothing ring upon her finger, that he cut off, as she fled
through the window; she being the last of the enraged malkins,
thus called together, that quitted the field.

VOL. I. T

274 LETTER XIV.

miracles. Upon this last word (like my house at
Glengary) my good lord, who had been silent
all this while, said to the minister — " Sir, you

must not mind Mr. , for he is an atheist."*

I shall not remark upon the politeness, good
sense, and hospitality of this reflection ; but this
imputation, although perhaps it might have pass-
ed with me for a jest, or unheeded, before
another, induced me, by my present situation,
to justify myself to the kirk; and therefore it
put me upon telling him, I was sorry his lord-
ship knew me no better, for that I thought there
was nothing in the world, that is speculative,
would admit of the thousandth part of the rea-
sons for its certainty, as would the being of a
Divine Providence; and that the visible evi-
dences were the stupendous contrivance and or-
der of the universe, the fitness of all the parts of
every individual creature for their respective
occasions, uses, and necessities, &c.; and con-
cluded, that none but an idiot could imagine that
senseless atoms could jumble themselves into

* A belief in spectres, witches, fairies, brounies, and hobgob-
lins, is not yet extinguished in many parts of the Highlands and
Western Isles. Th# old people seem greatly puzzled, and even
shocked at the infidelity of the young, and see with the utmost
concern, their favourite doctrines vanish as the dawn of reason
advances. They lift up their eyes to heaven, and sigh, deeply
concerned for their degenerate offspring. — Campbell's Journey,
vol. i. p. 192.

LETTER XIV. 275

this wonderful order and economy. To this,
and a good deal more to the same purpose, our
host said nothing; perhaps he was conscious he
had given his own character for mine.

Then I turned to the minister, and told him,
that, for my own part, I could not think there
was any thing irreligious in denying the super-
natural power of witchcraft, because I had, early
in my youth, met with such arguments as then
convinced me, that the woman of Endor was only
an impostor, like our astrologers and fortune-
tellers, and not a wkch, in the present accep-
tation of the word ; and, if my memory did not
deceive me, the principal reasons were, that to
support herself in her dishonest profession, she
must have been a woman of intelligence and in-
trigue, and therefore knew what passed in the
world, and could not be ignorant of Saul's un-
happy and abandoned state at that time. Nor
could she be unacquainted with the person and
dress of the prophet in his life-time, and there-
fore might easily describe him ; and that Saul
saw nothing, though he was in the same room,
but took it all from the woman's declaration.

Besides, I told him I might quote the case of
Copernicus, who was not far from suffering death
for broaching his new system of the earth, be-
cause it seemed to contradict a text in the Psalms
of David, although the same is now become un-

T 2

276 LETTER XIV.

questionable among the astronomers, and is not
at all disproved by the divines. And to this 1
told him I might add an inference relating to the
present belief of the plurality of habitable worlds.
Thus tenderly did I deal with a man of his
modesty and ill state of health.

I should have been ashamed to relate all this
egotism to any other than a truly bosom-friend,
to whom one may and ought to talk as to one's
self; for otherwise it is, by distrust, to do him
injustice.

Some of these ministers put me in mind of
Moliere's physicians who were esteemed by the
faculty according as they adhered to, or neglect-
ed the rules of Hippocrates and Galen; and
these, like them, will not go a step out of the old
road, and therefore have not been accustomed
to hear any thing out of the ordinary way,
especially upon subjects which, in their notion,
may have any relation even to their traditional
tenets. And I think this close adherency to
principles, in themselves indifferent, must be
owing, in good measure, to their fear of the
dreadful word heterodoxy. But this gentle-
man heard all that I had to say against his notion
of witchcraft*with great attention, either for the

* The celebrated Sir George Mackenzie, the learned lord ad-
vocate of Scotland, in the reigns of Charles II. and James VII.
declares witchcraft to le the grtatcst of crime*, and that the

LETTER XIV. 277

novelty of it, or by indulgence to a stranger, or
both. And I am fully persuaded it was the
newness of that opposition which tempted him
to sit up later than was convenient for him ; — I
say his sitting up only, because I think the very
little he drank could make no alteration in his
health ; but not many days after, I heard of his
death, which was much lamented by the people
of this town and the surrounding country.

lawyers of Scotland cannot doubt there are witches, since the
law ordains them to be punished. It is not to be wondered at,
then, that this barbarous mode of punishment was persevered in.
AtKirkaldy a man and his wife were burnt, in 1633, for witch-
craft; on September 13th, 1678, ten women were strangled and
burnt for the same crime. Among the late instances of this kind,
was one at Paisley, in 1697, and an instance is on record so late as
] 722. What notions shall we form of popular opinion, when his
majesty's advocate could prosecute, fifteen impartial jurymen con-
vict, and the supreme judge of the nat-on condemn to the flames,
ten women for this imaginary crime? — Campbell^ Journey,
vol. ii. 62,

LETTER XV.

I HAVE hitherto been speaking only of the part
of Scotland where I am, viz. the eastern side of
this island, bordering upon the northern moun-
tains, which part I take to be a kind of me-
dium between the Lowlands and Highlands,
both by its situation, and as it partakes" of the
language and customs of both those extremes.

In England the name of Scotsman is used
indiscriminately to signify any one of the male
part of the natives of North Britain ; but the
Highlanders differ from the people of the Low-
country in almost every circumstance of life.
Their language, customs, manners, dress, &c.
are unlike, and neither of them would be con-
tented to be taken for the other, insomuch that in
speaking of an unknown person of this country
(I mean Scotland) as a Scotsman only, it is as
indefinite as barely to call a Frenchman an
European, so little would his native character
be known by it.

I own it may be said there is a difference in
the other part of this island between the Eng-

LETTER XV. 279

lish and the Welsh ; but I think it is hardly in
any degree to be compared with the above-
mentioned distinction.

You will conclude I am speaking only of such
among the people of Scotland who have not
had the advantages of fortune and education,
for letters and converse with polite strangers
will render all mankind equal, so far as their
genius and application will admit; some few
prejudices, of no very great consequence, ex-
cepted.

A crowd of other remarks and observations
were just now pressing for admittance, but I
have rejected them all, as fit only to anticipate
some of the contents of the sheets that are to
follow ; and therefore I am now at liberty to
begin my account of the most northern part of
Great Britain, so far as it has fallen within my
knowledge.

The Highlands take up more than one-half of
Scotland ; they extend from Dumbarton, near
the mouth of the river Clyde, to the northern-
most part of the island, which is above two
hundred miles, and their breadth is from fifty
to above a hundred; but how to describe them
to you, so as to give you any tolerable idea of
such a rugged country,- — to you, I say, who
have never been out of the south of England —
is, I fear, a task altogether impracticable.

280 LETTER XV.

If it had been possible for me to procure a
land-scape (I should say heath-scape or rock-
scape) of any one tremendous view among the
mountains, it would be satisfactory and inform-
ing at one single cast of the eye ; but language,
you know, can only communicate ideas, as it
were, by retail ; and a description of one part
of an object, which is composed of many,
defaces or weakens another that went before ;
whereas painting not only shows the whole
entire at one view, but leaves the several
parts to be examined separately and at leisure
by the eye.

From words we can only receive a notion of
such unknown objects as bear some resemblance
with others we have seen, but painting can
even create ideas of bodies utterly unlike to
any thing that ever appeared to our sight.

Thus am I entering upon my most difficult
task, for the customs and manners of the
Highlanders will give me little trouble more
than the transcribing ; but as I believe I am
the first who ever attempted a minute descrip-
tion of any such mountains I cannot but greatly
doubt of my success herein ; and nothing but
your friendship and your request (which to me
is a command) could have engaged me to
hazard my credit even with you, indulgent as
you are, by an undertaking wherein the odds

LETTER XV. 281

are so much against me. But to begin. — The
Highlands are, for the greatest part, composed
of hills,* as it were, piled one upon another till
the complication rises and swells to mountains,
of which the heads are frequently above the
clouds, and near the summit have vast hollows
filled up with snow, which, on the north side,
continues all the year long.

From the west coast they rise, as it were,
in progression upwards, to\vard the midland
country eastward (for on the east side of the
island they are not generally quite so high),
and their ridges, for the most part, run west
and east, or near those points, as do likewise
all the yet discovered beds or seams of minerals
they contain, with which, I have good reason to
believe, they are well furnished.*

* Mr. Boswell thus describes Highland scenery: — " From a*
oid tower near this place (Ulinish) is an extensive view of Loch
Braccadil, and, at a distance, of the isles of Barra and Soutk
Ulst, and, on the land-side, Cuilliri, a prodigious range of moun-
tains, capped with rocky pinnacles in a strange variety of
shapes ; they resemble the mountains near Corte, in Corsica, anJ
make part of a great range for deer, which, though entirely de-
void of trees, is in these countries called a forest." — Boswell's
Tour, 239.

t Limestone is found in every district of this county, approach-
ing to the nature of marble. In Lochaber, near the farm-houses
of Ballachulish, there is a limestone, or marble rock, of a beau-
tiful ashen-grey colour, and of a fine regular uniform grain or

1

282 LETTER XV.

This position of the mountains has created
arguments for the truth of an universal deluge ;
as if the waters had formed those vast inequa-
lities, by rushing violently from east to west.

The summits of the highest are mostly desti-
tute of earth ; and the huge naked rocks, being
just above the heath, produce the disagreeable
appearance of a scabbed head, especially when
they appear to the view in a conical figure ; for
as you proceed round them in valleys, on
lesser hills, or the sides of other mountains,
their form varies according to the situation of
the eye that beholds them.

They are clothed with heath interspersed with
rocks, and it is very rare to see any spot of
grass ; for those (few as they are) lie concealed
from an outward view, in flats and hollows
among the hills.* There are, indeed, some

texture, capable of being raised in blocks or slabs of any size,
and equally so of receiving a fine polish. Many of the mountains
are composed of reddish granite. In the parish of Kingussie a
rich vein of silver was discovered, and attempted to be wrought,
but without success ; and, in other places, veins of lead contain-
ing silver have been discovered. Iron ore has also been found,
but not in sufficient quantity to render it an object of manufacture.
— Beauties of Scotland, vol. v. 300.

* The highest and wildest parts of this county have been found
extremely well adapted for the pasture of sheep. The mountains
ofLochaber are exceedingly fit for being stocked with them;
even the high tops of them are green, and afford fine pasture.

LETTER XV. 283

mountains that have woods of fir, or small oaks
on their declivity, where the root of one tree
is almost upon a line with the top of another :
these are rarely seen in a journey ; whatithere
may be behind, out of all common ways, I do
not know ; but none of them will pay for felling
and removing over rocks, bogs, precipices, and
conveyance by rocky rivers, except such as are
near the sea-coast, and hardly those, as I be-
lieve the York Buildings Company will find in
the conclusion.*

I have already mentioned the spaces of snow
near the tops of the mountains : they are great
hollows, appearing below as small spots of white
(I will suppose of the dimensions of a pretty
large table), but they are so diminished to the
eye by their vast height and distance, from,

About mid-hill there is commonly moss, which is flat when com-
pared with the steep slopes above it ; and below that moss there
is generally what is called a brae face ; which, from the spouts is-
suing in consequence of the flat above, is much covered with
sprets, intermixed with tufts of heath growing upon the small
heights formed by the little runs that are collected from the dif-
ferent springs. This pretty coarse grass is not easily killed by
frost, and is therefore a great resource to the sheep in winter ;
and the tufts of heath, standing high and intermixed with it, are of
considerable benefit in falls of snow. — Beauties of Scotland, vol. v.
297, 298.

* In the inland parts of the country, the extensive copse-woods
are very valuable ; the birch, &c. furnishing charcoal for the fur-
nace, and the oak bark for the tanner.

284 LETTER XV.

perhaps, a mile or more in length, and breadth
proportionable. This I know by experience,
having ridden over such a patch of snow in the
month of June : the surface was smooth, not
slippery, and so hard my horse's feet made little
or no impression on it ; and in one place I rode
over a bridge of snow hollowed into a kind of
arch. I then made no doubt this passage for
the water, at bottom of the deep bourn, was
opened by the warmth of springs; of which, I
suppose, in dry weather, the current was wholly
composed.

From the tops of the mountains there descend
deep, wide, and winding hollows, ploughed into
the sides by the weight and violent rapidity of
the waters, which often loosen and bring down
stones of an incredible bigness.

Of one of these hollows, only part appears to
sight in different places of the descent ; the rest
is lost to view in meanders among the hills.

When the uppermost waters begin to appeal"
with white streaks in these cavities, the inhabit-
ants who are within view of the height say,
The grey mares tail begins to grow, and it serves
to them as a monitor of ensuing peril, if at that
time they venture far from home ; because they
might be in danger, by waters, to have all
communication cutorFbetween them and shelter
or sustenance. And they are very skilful to

LETTER XV. 285

judge in what course of time the rivers and
bourns will become impassable.

The dashing and foaming of these cataracts
among the rocks make them look exceedingly
white, by comparison with the bordering heath ;
but when the mountains are covered with snow,
and that is melting, then those streams of water,
compared with the whiteness near them, look
of a dirty-yellowish colour, from the soil and
sulphur mixed with them as they descend.
But every thing, you know, is this or that by
comparison.

I shall soon conclude this description of the
outward appearance of the mountains, which I
am already tired of, as a disagreeable subject,
and I believe you are so too : but, for your future
ease in that particular, there is not much variety
in it, but gloomy spaces, different rocks, heath,
and high and low.

To cast one's eye from an eminence toward
a group of them, they appear still one above ano-
ther, fainter and fainter, according to the aerial
perspective, and the whole of a dismal gloomy
brown drawing upon a dirty purple ; and most
of all disagreeable when the heath is in bloom.

Those ridges of the mountains that appear
next to the ether — by their rugged irregular
lines, the heath and black rocks — are rendered
extremely harsh to the eye, by appearing close

286 LETTER XV.

to that diaphanous body, without any medium
to soften the opposition; and the clearer the
day, the more rude and offensive they are to
the sight ; yet, in some few places, where any
white crags are a- top, that harshness is some-
thing softened.

But of all the views, I think the most horrid
is, to look at the hills from east to west, or vice
versa, for then the eye penetrates far among
them, and sees more particularly their stupen-
dous bulk, frightful irregularity, and horrid
gloom, made yet more sombrous by the shades
and faint reflections they communicate one to
another.

As a specimen of the height of those moun-
tains, I shall here take notice of one in Locha-
ber, called Ben-Nevis,* which, from the level
below to that part of the summit only which
appears to view, has been several times mea-
sured by different artists, and found to be three-
quarters of a mile of perpendicular height.

* This is the highest mountain in the island of Great Britain:
it i? situated to the south-east of Fort William : its altitude is not
less than 4,370 feet. It is easily ascended by a ridge of the moun-
tain towards the west, about a quarter of a mile up the water
Nevis, and affords a noble prospect of the surrounding country.
Its upper half is wholly barren, consisting entirely of rock, with-
out any mixture of earth. On the north-east side there is a per-
pendicular'descent of four or five hundred yards, the appearance
of which is truly terrific. The sound of a stone thrown over the

LETTER XV. 287

It is reckoned seven Scots miles to that part
where it begins to be inaccessible.

Some English officers took it in their fancy to
go to the top, but could not attain it for bogs
and huge perpendicular rocks; and when they
were got as high as they could go, they found a
vast change in the quality of the air, saw nothing
but the tops of other mountains, and altogether
a prospect of one tremendous heath, with here
and there some spots of crags and snow.

This wild expedition, in ascending round and
round the hills, in finding accessible places,
helping one another up the rocks, in disappoint-
ments, and their returning to the foot of the
mountain, took them up a whole summer's day,
from five in the morning. This is according to
their own relation. But they were fortunate in
an article of the greatest importance to them,
i, e. that the mountain happened to be free from
clouds while they were in it, which is a thing not
very common in that dabbled part of the island,

cliff to the bottom cannot be heard at its fall. Ben-Nevis is covered
by clouds and snow towards the top, which few travellers have
perseverance enough to witness. A lady who had reached the
summit of this mountain left there a bottle of whiskey, and, on
her return, laughingly mentioned the circumstance, before some
Highlandmen, as a piece of carelessness ; one of whom slipped
away, and mounted to the pinnacle of 4,370 feet above the level
of the fort, to gain this prize, and brought it down in triumph. —
Beauties of Scotkind^vol. v. 286. — Murray s Guide, vol. i. 292.

288 LETTER XV.

the Western Hills ; — I say, if those condensed
vapours had passed while they were at any con-
siderable height, and had continued, there would
have been no means left for them to find their
way down, and they must have perished with
cold, wet, and hunger.

In passing to the heart of the Highlands we
proceeded from bad to worse, which makes the
worst of all the less surprising : but I have often
heard it said by my countrymen, that they
verily believed, if an inhabitant of the south of
England were to be brought blindfold into some
narrow, rocky hollow, enclosed with these horrid
prospects, and there to have his bandage taken
off, he would be ready to die with fear, as think-
ing it impossible he should ever get out to return
to his native country.

Now what do you think of a poetical moun-
tain, smooth and easy of ascent, clothed with a
verdant, flowery turf, where shepherds tend
their flocks, sitting under the shade of small
poplars, &c? — In short, what do you think of
Richmond Hill, where we have passed so many
hours together, delighted with the beautiful
prospect ?

But after this description of these mountains,
it is not unlikely you may ask, of what use can
be such monstrous excrescences ?

To this I should answer, they contain mi-

LETTER XV. 289

nerals,* as I said before; and serve for the
breeding and feeding of cattle, wild fowls, and
other useful animals, which cost little or nothing
in keeping. They break the clouds, and not
only replenish the rivers, but collect great quan-
tities of water into lakes and other vast reser-
voirs, where they are husbanded, as I may say,
for the use of mankind in time of drought; and
thence, by their gravity, perforate the crannies
of rocks and looser strata, and work their way
either perpendicularly, horizontally, or obliquely;
the two latter, when they meet with solid rock,
clay, or some other resisting stratum, till they
find their proper passages downward, and in
the end form the springs below. And, cer-
tainly, it is the deformity of the hills that
makes the natives conceive of their naked straths
and glens, as of the most beautiful objects in
nature.

But as I suppose you are unacquainted with

* A g. eat part of the mountain of Ben-Nevis is composed of
porphyry. It is a remarkably fine, beautiful, and elegant stone,
of a reddish cast, in which the pale-rose, the blush, and the yel-
lowish-white colours, are finely shaded through the body of the
stone, which is of a jelly-like texture, and is undoubtedly one of
the most elegant stones in the world; and there is enough in this
mountain alone to serve all the kingdoms of the universe, though
they were all as fond of granite as ancient Egypt. — Beauties of
Scotland, vol. v 291.

VOL. I. U

290 LETTER XV.

these words, I shall here take occasion to ex-
plain them to you.

A strath is a flat space of arable land, lying
along the side or sides of some capital river, be-
tween the water and the feet of the hills ; and
keeps its name till the river comes to be con-
fined to a narrow space, by stony moors, rocks,
or windings among the mountains.

The glen is a little spot of corn country, by
the sides of some small river or rivulet, likewise
bounded by hills; this is in general: but there
are some spaces that are called glens, from their
being flats in deep hollows between the high
mountains, although they are perfectly barren,
as Glen-dou (or the black glen), Glen- Almond,
&c.

By the way, this Glen- Almond f is a hollow

* A Glen is a valley.

t The entrance into Glen-Almond from Crieff has something
uncommonly striking in it : — prodigious craggy mountains rising
to the clouds, bending their rough heads to each other over the
glen, through which the water rolls its murmuring torrent in a
stony bed. I entered this silent, solemn pass (where no trace of
human habitation is seen, no sound heard, save that of the bleat-
ing sheep and the rushing water) with awful pleasure. The river
Almond, in floods and on sudden thaws, is a prodigiously furious
water. It rises rapidly to an incredible height, and roars down
with such violence that it carries every thing before it with a
noise like thunder. — Murray's Guide, vcl. i. 1 82.

LETTER XV. 291

so very narrow, and the mountains on each side
so steep and high, that the sun is seen therein
no more than between two and three hours in
the longest day.

Now let us go among the hills, and see if we
can find something more agreeable than their out-
ward appearance. And to that end I shall give
you the journal of two days' progress; which,! be-
lieve, will better answer the purpose than a dis-
jointed account of the inconveniencies, hazards,
and hardships, that attend a traveller in the heart
of the Highlands. But before I begin the par-
ticular account of my progress, I shall venture
at a general description of one of the mountain
spaces, between glen and glen : and when that
is done, you may make the comparison with one
of our southern rambles; in which, without any
previous route, we used to wander from place to
place, just so as the beauty of the country in-
vited.

How have we been pleased with the easy as-
cent of an eminence, which almost impercepti-
bly brought us to the beautiful prospects seen,
from its summit ! What a delightful variety of
fields, and meadows of various tints of green,
adorned with trees and blooming hedges; and
the whole embellished with woods, groves,
waters, flocks, herds, and magnificent seats of

u 2

292 LETTER XV.

the happy (at least seemingly so); and every
other rising ground opening a new and lovely
landscape !

But in one of these monts (as the Highlanders
call them), soon after your entrance upon the
first hill, you lose, for good and all, the sight of
the plain from whence you parted ; and nothing
follows but the view of rocks and heath, both
beneath and on every side, with high and barren
mountains round about.

Thus you creep slowly on, between the hills
in rocky ways, sometimes over those eminences,
and often on their declivities, continually hoping
the next ridge before you will be the summit
of the highest, and so often deceived in that
hope, as almost to despair of ever reaching the
top. And thus you are still rising by long
ascents, and again descending by shorter, till
you arrive at the highest ground ; from whence
you go down in much the same manner, re-
versed, and never have the glen in view that
you wish to see, as the end of your present
trouble, till you are just upon it. And when
you are there, the inconveniencies (though not
the hazards) are almost as great as in the tedious
passage to it.

As an introduction to my journal, I must ac-
quaint you that I was advised to take with me

LETTER XV. 293

some cold provisions, and oats for my horses,
there being no place of refreshment till the end
of my first day's journey.

The 2d of October, 172—
Set out with one servant and a guide ; the
latter, because no stranger (or even a native,
unacquainted with the way) can venture among
the hills without a conductor ; for if he once
go aside, and most especially if snow should
fall (which may happen on the very high hills at
any season of the year), in that, or any other
case, he may wander into a bog to impassable
bourns or rocks, and every ne plus ultra oblige
him to change his course, till he wanders from
all hopes of ever again seeing the face of a hu-
man creature. Or if he should accidentally hit
upon the way from whence he strayed, he would
not distinguish it from another, there is such a
seeming sameness in all the rocky places. Or
again, if he should happen to meet with some
Highlander, and one that was not unwilling to
give him directions, he could not declare his
wants, as being a stranger to the language of
the country. In short, one might as well think
of making a sea voyage without sun, moon, stars,
or compass, as pretend to know which way to
take, when lost among the hills and mountains.
But to return to my journal from which I

294 LETTER XV.

have strayed, though not with much danger, it
being at first setting out, and my guide with
me.

After riding about four miles of pretty good
road over heathy moors, hilly, but none high or
of steep ascent, I came to a small river, where
there was a ferry ; for the water was too deep
and rapid to pass the ford above. The boat
was patched almost every where with rough
pieces of boards, and the oars were kept in their
places by small bands of twisted sticks.

I could not but inquire its age, seeing it had
so many marks of antiquity; and was told by
the ferryman it had belonged to his father, and
was above sixty years old. This put me in
mind of the knife, which was of an extraordinary
age, but had, at times, been repaired with many
new blades and handles. But in most places
of the Highlands, where there is a boat (which
is very rare), it is much worse than this, and
not large enough to receive a horse ; and there-
fore he is swum at the stern, while somebody
holds up his head by a halter or bridle.

The horses swim very well at first setting out ;
but if the water be wide, in time they generally
turn themselves on one of their sides, and pa-
tiently suffer themselves to be dragged along.

I remember one of these boats was so very
much out of repair, we were forced to stand

LETTER XV. 295

upon clods of turf to stop the leaks in her bottom,
•while we passed across the river.*

I shall here conclude, in the style of the

news-writers This to be continued in my

next.

* This was but a sorry shift. Had there been a M'-Intyre in
the boat, he would probably have suggested some more effectual
expedient. It is said of the first of that family who came to the
Highlands, that being, on his way from Ireland, overtaken by a
storm, a plug in the bottom of the boat was displaced, and inad-
vertently thrown overboard in baling.. Having nothing else to
supply its place, he stuck his thumb in the hole, and his hand
being wanted in another part of the boat, he took an axe, cut off
his thumb, and left it there ; from which he was ever after called
AN SAOR, the carpenter ; and his descendants, MAC AN TSHAOR,

Macintyre, Carpenterson, or Wrighlson. The probability

is, that he was a descendant of one of those northern adventurers
who were settled (some of them, at least as early as the third
century) in Ireland, and excelled in the arts of his countrymen,
among whom a skill in naval architecture was, as in the days of
Ulysses, considered as one of the most honourable acccomplish-
ments of a prince. — Among the Highlanders every man was his
own carpenter, and a ship-builder was the only professional
worker in wood they had occasion for.

LETTER XVI.

FROM the river's side I ascended a steep hill, so
full of large stones, it was impossible to make a
trot. This continued up and down about a mile
and half.

At the foot of the hill, tolerable way for a mile,
there being no great quantity of stones among
the heath, but very uneven ; and, at the end of
it, a small bourn descending from between two
hills, worn deep among the rocks, rough, rapid,
and steep, and dangerous to pass. I concluded
some rain had fallen behind the hills that were
near me ; which I could not see, because it had
a much greater fall of water than any of the like
kind I had passed before.

From hence a hill five miles over, chiefly com-
posed of lesser hills; so stony, that it was im-
possible to crawl above a mile in an hour. But
I must except a small part of it from this general
description ; for there ran across this way (or
road, as they call it) the end of a wood of fir-
trees, the only one I had ever passed.

This, for the most part, was an easy, rising

LETTER XVI. 297

slope of about half a mile. In most places of the
surface it was bog about two feet deep, and be-
neath was uneven rock ; in other parts the rock
and roots of the trees appeared to view.

The roots sometimes crossed one another, as
they ran along a good way upon the face of the
rock, and often above the boggy part, by both
which my horses' legs were so much entangled,
that I thought it impossible to keep them upon
their feet. But you would not have been dis-
pleased to observe how the roots had run along,
and felt, as it were, for the crannies of the rock ;
and there shot into them, as a hold against the
pressure of winds above.*

At the end of this hill was a river, or rather
rivulet, and near the edge of it a small grassy
spot, such as I had not seen in all my way, but
the place not inhabited. Here I stopped to bait.
My own provisions were laid upon the foot of a
rock, and the oats upon a kind of mossy grass,
as the cleanest place for the horses' feeding.

While I was taking some refreshment, chance
provided me with a more agreeable repast — the
pleasure, of the mind. I happened to espy a
poor Highlander at a great height, upon the de-
clivity of a high hill, and ordered my guide to

* Had not the roots grown in the soil, and been afterwards laid
bare by the torrents? From what we have observed of forest
phenomena, this seems the more probable conjecture.

298 LETTER XVI.

call him down. The trout so (or come hither)
seemed agreeable to him, and he came down
with wonderful celerity, considering the rough-
ness of the hill; and asking what was my will
(in his language), he was given to understand I
wanted him only to eat and drink. This un-
expected answer raised such joy in the poor
creature, that he could not help showing it by
skipping about, and expressing sounds of satis-
faction. And when I was retired a little way
down the river, to give the men an opportunity
of enjoying themselves with less restraint, there
was such mirth among the three, as I thought
a sufficient recompence for my former fatigue.

But, perhaps, you may question how there
could be such merriment, with nothing but
water ?

I carried with me a quart-bottle of brandy,
for my man and the guide ; and for myself, I
had always in my journeys a pocket-pistol, loaded
with brandy, mixed with juice of lemon (when
they were to be had), which again mingled with
water in a wooden cup, was, upon such occa-
sions, my table-drink.

When we had trussed up our baggage, I en-
tered the ford, and passed it not without dan-
ger, the bottom being filled with large stones,
the current rapid, a steep, rocky descent to the
water, and a rising on the further side much

LETTER XVI. 299

worse ; for having mounted a little way up the
declivity, in turning the corner of a rock I came
to an exceedingly steep part before I was aware
of it, where I thought my horse would have gone
down backwards, much faster than he went up;
but I recovered a small flat of the rock, and dis-
mounted.

There was nothing remarkable afterwards,
till I came near the top of the hill ; where there
was a seeming plain, of about a hundred and
fifty yards, between me and the summit.

No sooner was I upon the edge of it, but my
guide desired me to alight ; and then I perceived
it was a bog, or peat-moss, as they call it.

I had experience enough of these deceitful
surfaces to order that the horses should be led
in separate parts, lest, if one broke the turf, the
other, treading in his steps, might sink.

The horse I used to ride, having little weight
but his own, went on pretty successfully ; only
now and then breaking the surface a little; but
the other, that carried my portmanteau, and
being not quite so nimble, was much in danger,
till near the further end, and there he sank.
But it luckily happened to be in a part where
his long legs went to the bottom, which is gene-
rally hard gravel, or rock ; but he was in almost
up to the back.

By this time my own (for distinction) was

300 LETTER XVI.

quite free of the bog, and being frighted, stood
very tamely by himself; which he would not
have done at another time. In the mean while
we were forced to wait at a distance, while the
other was flouncing and throwing the dirt about
him ; for there was no means of coming near
him to ease him of the heavy burden he had
upon his loins, by which he was sometimes in
danger to be turned upon his back, when he
rose to break the bog before him. But, in about
a quarter of an hour, he got out, bedaubed with
the slough, shaking with fear, and his head and
neck all over in a foam.

This bog was stiff enough at that time to bear
the country garrons in any part of it. But it is
observed of the English horses, that when they
find themselves hampered, they stand still, and
tremble till they sink, and then they struggle
violently, and work themselves further in ; and
if the bog be deep, as most of them are, it is
next to impossible to get them out, otherwise
than by digging them a passage. But the little
Highland hobbies, when they find themselves
bogged, will lie still till they are relieved. And
besides, being bred in the mountains, they have
learnt to avoid the weaker parts of the mire ;
and sometimes our own horses, having put down
their heads and smelt to the bog, will refuse to
enter upon it.

LETTER XVI. 301

There is a certain lord in one of the most
northern parts, who makes use of the little gar-
rons for the bogs and rough ways, but has a
sizeable horse led with him, to carry him through
the deep and rapid fords.

As for myself, I was harrassed on this slough,
by winding about from place to place, to find
such tufts as were within my stride or leap, in
my heavy boots with high heels ; which, by my
spring, when the little hillocks, were too far
asunder, broke the turf, and then I threw my-
self down toward the next protuberance : but
to my guide it seemed nothing ; he was light of
body, shod with flat brogues, wide in the soles,
and accustomed to a particular step, suited to
the occasion.

This hill was about three quarters of a mile
over, and had but a short descent on the fur-
ther side, rough, indeed, but not remarkable in
this country. I had now five computed miles
to go before I came to my first asylum,— that is,
five Scots miles, which, as in the north of Eng-
land, are longer than yours as three is to two ;
and, if the difficulty of the way were to be taken
into account, it might well be called fifteen.
This, except about three quarters of a mile of
heathy ground, pretty free from stones and
rocks, consisted of stony moors, almost imprac-
ticable for a horse with his rider, and likewise

302 LETTER XVI.

of rocky way, where we were obliged to dis-
mount, and sometimes climb, and otherwhile
slide down. But what vexed me most of all,
they called it a road ; and yet I must confess it
was preferable to a boggy way. The great
difficulty was to wind about with the horses,
and find such places as they could possibly be
got over.

When we came near the foot of the lower-
most hill, I discovered a pretty large glen,
which before was not to be seen. I believe it
might be about a quarter of a mile wide, en-
closed by exceedingly high mountains, with nine
dwelling-huts, besides a few others of a lesser
size for barns and stables : this they call a town
with a pompous name belonging to it ; but the
comfort of being near the end of my day's
journey, heartily tired, was mixed with the allay
of a pretty wide river, that ran between me
and my lodging.

Having passed the hill, I entered the river,
my horse being almost at once up to his mid-
sides ; the guide led him by the bridle, as he
was sometimes climbing over the loose stones
which lay in all positions, and many of them
two or three feet diameter ; at other times with
his nose in the water and mounted up behind.
Thus he proceeded with the utmost caution,
never removing one foot till he found the others

LETTER XVI. 303

firm, and all the while seeming impatient of the
pressure of the torrent, as if he was sensible
that, once losing his footing, he should be driven
away and dashed against the rocks below.

In other rapid rivers, where I was something-
acquainted with the fords, by having passed
them before, though never so stony, I thought
the leader of my horse to be an incumbrance to
him ; and I have always found, as the rivers,
while they are passable, are pretty clear, the
horse is the surest judge of his own safety.
Perhaps some would think it strange I speak in
this manner of a creature that we proudly call
irrational. There is a certain giddiness attends
the violent passage of the water when one is in
it, and therefore I always, at entering, resolved
to keep my eye steadily fixed on some remark-
able stone on the shore of the further side, and
my horse's ears, as near as I could, in a line
with it, leaving him to choose his steps; for the
rider, especially if he casts his eye down the
torrent, does not know whether he goes directly
forward or not, but fancies he is carried, like
the leeway of a ship, sideways along with the
stream. If he cannot forbear looking aside, it is
best to turn his face toward the coming current.

Another precaution is (and you cannot use
too many), to let your legs hang in the water ;
and, where the stones will permit, to preserve

304 LETTER XVI.

a firmer seat, in case of any sudden slide or
stumble.

By what I have been saying you will perceive
I still retain the custom of my own country, in
not sending my servant before me through
these dangerous waters, as is the constant
practice of all the natives of Scotland; nor
could I prevail with myself to do so, at least
unless, like theirs, mine went before me in
smooth as well as bad roads. But in that there
are several inconveniences : and although a ser-
vant may by some be contemned for his servile
circumstance of life, I could never bear the
thoughts of exposing him to dangers for my
own safety and security, lest he should despise
me with more justice, and in a greater degree,
for the want of a necessary resolution and for-
titude.*

I shall here mention a whimsical expedient
against the danger of these Highland fords.

* Expediency often spoils fine sentiments, and we shall soon
find our author going across a river (like an emperor elect to the
capitol) mounted on the shoulders of four Highlanders. In
England, a gentleman, accustomed from his boyhood to swimming
and riding, can make his way over a torrent or a precipice much
better than a peasani ; but. in Scotland, the reverse was the case,
and no faithful servant would have continued with a master who
disputed his privilege of going first. If the master was lost, all
was lost to the servant and his family ; but if the servant was lost,
his family was sure to be not only provided for, but to thrive

LETTER XVI. 305

An officer, who was lately quartered at one
of the barracks in a very mountainous part of
the country, when he travelled, carried with
him a long rope; this was to be put round
his body, under his arms, and those that at-
tended him were to wade the river, and hold
the rope on the other side, that, if any accident
should happen to him by depth of water, or the
failure of his horse, they might prevent his being
carried down the current and drag him ashore.

The instant I had recovered the further side
of the river, there appeared, near the water, six
Highland men and a woman ; these, 1 suppose,
had coasted the stream over rocks, and along
the sides of steep hills, for I had not seen them
before. Seeing they were preparing to wade,
I staid to observe them : first the men and the
woman tucked up their petticoats, then they
cast themselves into a rank, with the female in
the middle, and laid their arms over one ano-

araong their neighbours, from the generous sympathy excited by
his fate. In England, the servant went behind, as he commonly
now does in Scotland, because there was no longer any good
reason for his going before ; in Scotland, where ready accommo-
dation was not to be expected, an avant~courier was necessary,
to announce the approach of a guest. How running footmen
were formerly trained in Britain we know not ; where they are
kept on the continent, they are made to run, with heavy clogs, on
ploughed land, in order that they may feel the more light when
equipped for expedition.

VOL. I. X

306 LETTER XVI.

ther's shoulders; and I saw they had placed
the strongest toward the stream, as best able
to resist the force of the torrent. In their
passage, the large slippery stones made some of
them now and then lose their footing: and,
on those occasions, the whole rank changed co-
lour and countenance. I believe no painter
ever remarked such strong impressions of fear
and hope on a human face, with so many and
sudden successions of those two opposite pas-
sions, as I observed among those poor people ;
but in the Highlands this is no uncommon thing.

Perhaps you will ask — " How does a single
Highlander support himself against so great a
force ?" He bears himself up against the stream
with a stick, which he always carries with him
for that purpose.

As I am now at the end of my first day's
journey, and have no mind to resume this dis-
agreeable subject in another place, I shall ask
leave to mention one danger more attending
the Highland fords; and that is, the sudden
gushes of waters that sometimes descend from
behind the adjacent hills, insomuch that, when
the river has not been above a foot deep, the
passenger, thinking himself secure, has been
overtaken and carried away by the torrent.*

* These accidents are very common, and strangers cannot be
too much upon their guard against them. The following striking

LETTER xvr. 307

Such accidents have happened twice within
my knowledge, in two different small rivers,
both within seven miles of this town ; one to
an exciseman and the messenger who was car-
rying him from hence to Edinburgh, in order
to answer some accusations relating to his
office ; the other to two young fellows of a
neighbouring clan; — all drowned in the manner
above-mentioned. And, from these two in-
stances, we may reasonably conclude that many
accidents of the same nature have happened,
especially in more mountainous parts, and
those hardly ever known but in the narrow
neighbourhoods of the unhappy sufferers.

When I came to my inn, I found the stable-
instance of presence of mind in a Highlander, under such cir-
cumstances, may be worth recording: — a Murrayshire farmer
was in the habit of taking his plough-oxen every summer to
Strathdon to grass. One fine, clear day he was passing a river
on stepping-stones along with a Highlander ; the Highlander had
reached the opposite bank, and the farmer was loitering upon the
stones and looking about him, wondering at a sudden noise he
heard, when the Highlander cried out, " Help! help! or I'm a
dead man !" and fell to the ground ; the farmer sprung to his as-
sistance, and had hardly reached him when the torrent came
down, sweeping over the stones with such fury as no human force
could have withstood. The Highlander had heard the roaring of
the stream behind the rocks that intercepted its approach from his
view, and fearing that the stranger might be panic-struck and lost?
if he told him of his danger, took this expedient to save him.

x 2

308 LETTER xvr.

door too low to receive my large horses, though
high enough for the country garrons; so the
frame was taken out, and a small part of the roof
pulled down for their admittance ; for which da-
mage I had a shilling to pay the next morning.
My fear was, the hut being weak and small, they
would pull it about their ears; for that mis-
chance had happened to a gentleman who bore
me company in a former journey, but his
horses were not much hurt by the ruins.

When oats were brought I found them so
light and so much sprouted, that, taking up a
handful, others hung to them, in succession, like
a cluster of bees ; but of such corn it is the
custom to give double measure.

My next care was to provide for myself, and
to that end I entered the dwelling-house.
There my landlady sat, with a parcel of children
about her, some quite, and others almost, naked,
by a little peat fire, in the middle of the hut;*

* Dr. Johnson has described the mode of forming these rude
dwellings as follows: — " A hut is constructed with loose stones,
ranged, for the most part, with some tendency to circularity. It
must be placed where the wind cannot act upon it with violence,
because it has no cement, and where the water will run easily
away, because it has no floor but the naked ground. The wall,
which is commonly about six feet high, declines from the per-
pendicular a little inward; such rafters as can be procured are
then raised for a roof, and covered with heath, which makes a

LETTER XVI. 309

and over the fire-place was a small hole in the
roof for a chimney. The floor was common
earth, very uneven, and no where dry, but
near the fire and in the corners, where no foot
had carried the muddy dirt from without doors.

The skeleton of the hut was formed of small
crooked timber, but the beam for the roof was
large, out of all proportion. This is to render
the weight of the whole more fit to resist the
violent flurries of wind that frequently rush
into the plains from the openings of the moun-
tains ; for the whole fabric was set upon the
surface of the ground like a table, stool, or other
moveable.

Hence comes the Higlander's compliment, or
health, in drinking to his friend ; for as we say,
among familiar acquaintance, " To your Jire-
side;" he says, much to the same purpose, " To
your roof-tree," alluding to the family's safety
from tempests.*

strong and warm thatch, kept from flying off by ropes of twisted
heath, of which the ends, reaching from the centre of the thatch to
the top of the wall, are held firm by the weight of a large stone.
No light is admitted but at the entrance, and through a hole in
the thatch, which gives vent to the smoke ; this hole is no tdirectly
over the fire, lest the rain should extinguish it : and the smoke
therefore naturally fills the place before it escapes." — Johnson's
Journey, Works, vol. viii. 240.

* The fire-side means only the family, but the roof-tree in-
cludes also the cows, horses, pigs, and poultry, which then, and

310 LETTER XVF.

The walls were about four feet high, lined
with sticks wattled like a hurdle, built on the
outside with turf; and thinner slices of the same
served for tiling. This last they call divet.

When the hut has been built some time it is
covered with weeds and grass; and, I do assure
you, I have seen sheep, that had got up from the
foot of an adjoining hill, feeding upon the top
of the house.*

If there happen to be any continuance of
dry weather, which is pretty rare, the worms
drop out of the divet for want of moisture, inso-
much that I have shuddered at the apprehen-
sion of their falling into the dish when I have
been eating.

even in our own days, were, both in the Highlands and many
parts of the Lowlands of Scotland, as they still are in some parts
of Ireland, all under the same roo/", and entered by the same door.
* We have seen the same thing in Sweden, where it is more
common.

LETTER XVII.

AT a little distance was another hut, where pre-
parations were making for my reception. It
was something less, but contained two beds, or
boxes to lie in, and was kept as an apartment
for people of distinction; — or, which is all one,
for such as seem by their appearance to promise
expence. And, indeed, I have often found but
little difference in that article, between one of
those huts and the best inn in England. Nay, if
I were to reckon the value of what I had for my
own use by the country price, it would appear
to be ten times dearer : but it is not the maxim
of the Highlands alone (as we know), that those
who travel must pay for such as stay at home ;
and really the Highland gentlemen themselves
are less scrupulous of expence in these public
huts than anywhere else. And their example,
in great measure, authorises impositions upon
strangers, who may complain, but can have no
redress.*

the

'' The gentlemen of the country were surely the best judges of
circumstances of the country. Small gains do very well where

312 LETTER XVII.

The landlord not only sits down with you, as in
the northern Lowlands, but, in some little time,
asks leave (and sometimes not) to introduce his
brother, cousin, or more, who are all to drink
your honour's health in usky ; which, though a
strong spirit, is to them like water. And this I
have often seen them drink out of a scallop-shell.
And in other journeys, notwithstanding their
great familiarity with me, I have several times
seen my servant at a loss how to behave, when the
Highlander has turned about and very formally
drank to him : and when I have baited, and eaten
two or three eggs, and nothing else to be had,
when I asked the question, " What is there for
eating?" the answer has been, "Nothing for
you, sir; but six-pence for your man."

The host, who is rarely other than a gentle-
man, is interpreter between you and those who
do not speak English; so that you lose nothing
of what any one has to say relating to the
antiquity of their family, or the heroic actions

!
there are many customers; but in the Highlands there were very

few ; and it was good policy to encourage the keeping up of
houses of entertainment for travellers, in places where they were
so necessary, which could not be done otherwise than by paying
liberally. But when a gentleman had nothing to pay for him-
self, and only sixpence for his hungry, and less fastidious servant,
who had eaten the mutton and fowls provided for his master, there
was not much to complain of.

LETTER XV11. 313

of their ancestors in war with some other
clan.*

If the guest be a stranger, not seen before by
the man of the house, he takes the first oppor-
tunity to inquire of the servant from whence
his master came, who he is, whither he is going,
and what his business in that country ? And if
the fellow happens to be surly, as thinking the
inquiry impertinent, perhaps chiefly from the
Highlander's poor appearance, then the master
is sure to be subtilly sifted (if not asked) for the
secret; and, if obtained, it is a help to conversa-
tion with his future guests.f

Notice at last was brought me that my apart-
ment was ready; but at going out from the first
hovel, the other seemed to be all on fire within :
for the smoke came pouring out through the ribs
and roof all over ; but chiefly out at the door,
which was not four feet high, so that the whole

* The host told what he knew to his guest, in the hope that his
guest would, in return, tell him something that he did not know.
A stranger, in general, loses much, who baffles the curiosity of a
Highlander, teasing as it often is.

t In the then political state of the country, curiosity respecting
Grangers, particularly those in the service of government, was natu-
ral enough. The curiosity remains, although this cause of it i*
happily removed ; but these poor people have been so little obliged
to the strangers who have settled among them, that this also
is not to be wondered at.

314 LETTER XVII.

made the appearance (I have seen) of a fuming
dunghill removed and fresh piled up again, and
pretty near the same in colour, shape, and size.

By the way, the Highlanders say they love
the smoke; it keeps them warm. But I retired
to my first shelter till the peats were grown red,
and the smoke thereby abated.

This fuel is seldom kept dry, for want of con-
venience ; and that is one reason why, in lighting
or replenishing the fire, the smokiness continues
so long a time ; — and Moggy's puffing of it with
her petticoat, instead of a pair of bellows, is a
dilatory way.

I believe you would willingly know (being an
Englishman) what I had to eat. My fare was
a couple of roasted hens (as they call them),
very poor, new killed, the skins much broken
with plucking; black with smoke, and greased
with bad butter.

As I had no great appetite to that dish, I spoke
for some hard eggs; made my supper of the
yolks, and washed them down with a bottle of
good small claret.

My bed had clean sheets and blankets ; but,
which was best of all (though negative), I found
no inconvenience from those troublesome com-
panions with which most other huts abound.
But the bare mention of them brings to my re-

LETTER XVII. 315

membrance a passage between two officers of
the army, the morning after a Highland night's
lodging. One was taking off the slowest kind of

the two, when the other cried out, " Z ds !

what are you doing ? — Let us first secure the dra-
goons ; we can take the foot at leisure."

But I had like to have forgot a mischance
that happened to me the next morning ; for
rising early, and getting out of my box pretty
hastily, I unluckily set my foot in the chamber-
pot— a hole in the ground by the bed-side,
which was made to serve for that use in case
of occasion.

I shall not trouble you with any thing that
passed till I mounted on horseback ; only, for
want of something more proper for breakfast,
I took up with a little brandy, water, sugar,
and yolks of eggs, beat up together ; which I
think they call Old man's milk.*

I was now provided with a new guide, for the
skill of my first extended no further than this
place : but this could speak no English, which
I found afterwards to be an inconvenience.

Second day. — At mounting I received many
compliments from my host ; but the most
earnest was, that common one of wishing me
good weather. For, like the seafaring-man,

* The denominative ingredient is here wanting. The place
of the water should have been supplied by whipt cream.

316 LETTER XV1J.

my safety depended upon it ; especially at that
season of the year.

As the plain lay before me, I thought it all fit
for culture; but in riding along, I observed a
good deal of it was bog, and here and there
rock even with the surface : however, my road
was smooth ; and if I had had company with
me, I might have said jestingly, as was usual
among us after a rough way, " Come, let us
ride this over again."

At the end of about a mile, there was a steep
ascent, which they call a came ; — that is, an ex-
ceedingly stony hill, which at some distance
seems to have no space at all between stone and
stone. I thought I could compare it with no rug-
gedness so aptly as to suppose it like all the dif-
ferent stones in a mason's yard thrown promis-
cuously upon one another. This I passed on
foot, at the rate of about half a mile in the hour.
I do not reckon the time that was lost in back-
ing my horses out of a narrow place without-
side of a rock, where the way ended with a pre-
cipice of about twenty feet deep. Into this gap
they were led by the mistake or carelessness
of my guide. The descent from the top of this
carne was short, and thence I ascended ano-
ther hill not so stony ; and at last, by several
others (which, though very rough, are not
reckoned extraordinary in the Highlands), I

LETTER XVII. 317

came to a precipice of about a hundred yards
in length.

The side of the mountain below me was al-
most perpendicular ; and the rest above, which
seemed to reach the clouds, was exceedingly
steep. The path which the Highlanders and
their little horses had worn was scarcely two
feet wide, but pretty smooth ; and below was
a lake whereinto vast pieces of rock had fallen,
which I suppose had made, in some measure,
the steepness of the precipice ; and the water
that appeared between some of them seemed
to be under my stirrup. I really believe the
path where I was is twice as high from the
lake as the cross of St. Paul's is from Ludgate-
hill ; and I thought 1 had good reason to think
so, because a few huts beneath, on the further
side of the water, which is not very wide,
appeared to me each of them like a black spot
not much bigger than the standish before me.

A certain officer of the army going this way
was so terrified with the sight of the abyss
that he crept a little higher, fondly imagining
he should be safer above, as being further off
from the danger, and so to take hold of the
heath in his passage. There a panic terror
seized him, and he began to lose his forces,
rinding it impracticable to proceed, and being
fearful to quit his hold and slide down, lest in

318 LETTER XVII.

so doing he should overshoot the narrow path ;
and had not two soldiers come to his assistance,
viz. one who was at some little distance before
him, and the other behind, in all probability he
had gone to the bottom. But I have observed
that particular minds are wrought upon by
particular dangers, according to their different
sets of ideas. I have sometimes travelled in
the mountains with officers of the army, and
have known one in the middle of a deep and
rapid ford cry out he was undone ; another was
terrified with the fear of his horse's falling in
an exceeding rocky way ; and perhaps neither
of them would be so much shocked at the
danger that so greatly affected the other; or,
it may be, either of them at standing the fire
of a battery of cannon. But for my own part
I had passed over two such precipices before,
which rendered it something less terrifying ;
yet, as I have hinted, I chose to ride it, as I
did the last of the other two, knowing by the
first I was liable to fear, and that my horse was
not subject either to that disarming passion or
to giddiness, which in that case I take to be
the effect of apprehension.

It is a common thing for the natives to ride
their horses over such little precipices; but for
myself I never was upon the back of one of
them ; and, by the account some Highlanders

*

LETTER XVII. 319

have given me of them, I think I should never
choose it in such places as I have been de-
scribing.

There is in some of those paths, at the very
edge, or extremity, a little mossy grass, and
those sheltys, being never shod, if they are ever
so little foot-sore, they will, to favour their feet,
creep to the very brink, which must certainly
be very terrible to a stranger.

It will hardly ever be out of my memory,
how I was haunted by a kind of poetical sen-
tence, after I was over this precipice, which did
not cease till it was supplanted by the new
fear of my horse's falling among the rocks in
my way from it. It was this :—

" There hov'ring eagles wait the fatal trip."

By the way, this bird* is frequently seen

* In the west and north-west of Scotland there is great re-
pairing of a fowle called the erne (Scottish eagle), of a mar-
vellous nature, and the people are very curious and solist to catch
him, whom thereafter they punze off his wings, that he shall not
be able to flie againe. This fowle is of a huge quantity ; and,
although he be of a ravenous nature, like to the kind of haulks,
and be of the same qualitie, gluttonous, nevertheless the people
doe give him such sort of meat as they thinke convenient, and
such a great quantity at a time that hee lives contented with that
portion for the space of fourteene, sixteene, or twenty dayes, and
some of them for the space of a moneth. The people that doe so
feed him, doe use him for this intent, that they may be furnished

320 LETTER XVII.

among the mountains, and, I may say, severely
felt sometimes, by the inhabitants, in the loss of
their lambs, kids, and even calves and colts.

I had now gone about six miles, and had not
above two, as I understood afterwards, to the
place of baiting. In my way, which I shall

with the feathers of his wings, when hee doth cast them, for the
garnishing of their arrowes, either when they are at warre or at
hunting, for these feathers onely doe never receive rayne or
water, as others doe, but remayne always of a durable estate and
uncorruptible. The Highland chiefs were distinguished by wear-
ing the plumes of the erne in their bonnets. — Lord Someris
Tracts, vol. iii. 401 .

The eagle has been known to carry off not only fowls, but
lambs and pigs; and, as Sir Robert Sibbald says, young children.
The devastation committed by this race of birds upon the sheep,
lambs, rabbits, pigs, and poultry, was at one time so great, that a
law was found necessary for granting a reward to every person
who should destroy an erne, or eagle. Those who take their
nests find in them remains of great numbers of moor-game. —
Beauties of Scotland, vol. v. 62. — Pennant's Scotland, vol. ii.
10.

The premium for producing two eagles' feet, as they became
fewer, gradually dwindled down from a guinea to half-a-crown.
The shepherd made a sort of low hut, or covering of loose
branches of trees and heath, under which he concealed himself,
with his fowling-piece a little before day-break, after putting the
mangled carcase of a dead sheep as a bait. The kite was the
earliest riser, then came the raven, carrion-crow, and magpie,
who all tugged away together in perfect good humour ; last of all
came the eagle, and all the others retired to a respectful distance,
to let him feed and — be shot.

LETTER XVII. 321

hillv, 1

only say was very rough and hilly, 1 met a
Highland chieftain with fourteen attendants,
whose offices about his person I shall hereafter
describe, at least the greatest part of them.
When we came, as the sailor says, almost broad-
side and broadside, he eyed me as if he would
look my hat off; but, as he was at home, and I
a stranger in the country, I thought he might
have made the first overture of civility, and
therefore I took little notice of him and his
ragged followers. On his part he seemed to
show a kind of disdain at my being so slenderly
attended, with a mixture of anger that I
showed him no respect before his vassals ; but
this might only be my surmise — yet it looked
very like it. I supposed he was going to the
glen from whence I came, for there was no
other hut in all my way, and there he might be
satisfied by the landlord who I was, &c.

I shall not trouble you with any more at pre-
sent, than that I safely arrived at my baiting-
place ; for, as I hinted before, there is such a
sameness in the parts of the hills that the descrip-
tion of one rugged way, bog, ford, &c. will serve
pretty well to give you a notion of the rest.

Here I desired to know what I could have
for dinner, and was told there was some un-
dressed mutton. This I esteemed as a rarity,
but, as I did not approve the fingers of either

VOL. I. Y

322 LETTER XVII.

maid or mistress, I ordered rny man (who is an
excellent cook, so far as a beef- steak or a mut-
ton-chop) to broil me a chop or two, while I
took a little turn to ease my legs, weary with
sitting so long on horseback.

This proved an intolerable affront to my land-
lady, who raved and stormed, and said,
"What's your master? I have dressed for the
laird of this and the laird of that, such and
such chiefs; and this very day," says she, " for

the laird of ," who, I doubted not, was the

person I met on the hill. To be short, she
absolutely refused to admit of any such inno-
vation ; * and so the chops served for my man
and the guide, and I had recourse to my for-
mer fare — hard eggs.

Eggs are seldom wanting at the public huts,
though, by the poverty of the poultry, one might
wonder how they should have any inclination to
produce them.

* About thirty years ago, a Highland gentleman of our ac-
quaintance stopped at a country inn in the north-west Lowlands,
and a large porringer full of minced collops was brought for his
dinner ; they were so musty that he begged the girl to ask her
mistress if there was nothing else to be had. On this the land-
lady straddled into the room, with her arms a-kimbo, — " Musty,
indeed ! O the deil swall ye, that I should say sae ! It sets ye
weel to be sae nice-gabbit, a fulthy butcher o' Dunblane, as I
ken weel ye are ! Better folks nor you has lickit their lips after
that very collops, a month sinsyne, and mair, 'at weel !" — With

LETTER XVII. 323

Here was no wine to be had ; but as I carried
with me a few lemons in a net, I drank some
small punch for refreshment. When my ser-
vant was preparing the liquor, my landlord
came to me, and asked me seriously if those
were apples he was squeezing.* And indeed
there are as many lemon-trees as apple-trees
in that country, nor have they any kind of
fruit in their glens that I know of.

Their huts are mostly built on some rising
rocky spot at the foot of a hill, secure from any
bourn or springs that might descend upon them
from the mountains; and, thus situated, they
are pretty safe from inundations from above or
below, and other ground they cannot spare
from their corn. And even upon the skirts of
the Highlands, where the laird has indulged
two or three trees from his house, I have heard

that she thrust her fat, dirty paw into the middle of the dish,
clutched as much of the minced beef as she could grasp, which
she conveyed to her mouth, and, having tasted it, dashed the re-
mainder back into the dish, and telling him " it was far o'er gude
for him," flung out of the room, and left him to " dine with what
appetite he might." This harridan is a bad sample of a Scotish
brewster-wife.

* His question probably was " what apples they were?"
which was proper enough. If he had learnt English, it must
have been where there were apples to be seen. Had the author
been obliged to speak Latin to a foreigner, he would have used
the same form of speech.

Y2

324 LETTER XVII.

the tenant lament the damage done by the
droppings and shade of them, as well as the
space taken up by the trunks and roots.

The only fruit the natives have, that I have
seen, is the bilberry, which is mostly found
near springs, in hollows of the heaths. The
taste of them to me is not very agreeable, but
they are much esteemed by the inhabitants,
who eat them with their milk : yet in the moun-
tain-woods, which, for the most part, are distant
and difficult of access, there are nuts, rasp-
berries, and strawberries ; the two last, though
but small, are very grateful to the taste ; * but
those woods are so rare (at least it has always
ppeared so to me) that few of the Highlanders
are near enough to partake of the benefit.

I now set out on my last stage, of which I
had gone about five miles, in much the same
manner as before, when it began to rain below,
but it was snow above to a certain depth from
the summits of the mountains. In about half,
an hour afterwards, at the end of near a mile,
there arose a most violent tempest. This, in a

* When the autumn is warm and dry, the blackberries, in
favourable exposures, in the Highlands, are so superior to those
found in the brakes and hedges in England, that an Englishman
must taste them before he can believe how good they are : they
are not quite so large as the mulberry, but much better flavoured.
They have also juniper, cranberries, bogberries, &c.

LETTER XVTI. 325

little time, began to scoop the snow from the
mountains, and made such a furious drift,
which did not melt as it drove, that I could
hardly see my horse's head.

The horses were blown aside from place to
place as often as the sudden gusts came on,
being unable to resist those violent eddy-winds;
and, at the same time, they were nearly blinded
with the snow.

Now I ejected no less than to perish, was
hardly able to keep my saddle, and, for in-
crease of misery, my guide led me out of the
way, having entirely lost his land-marks.

When he perceived his error he fell down on
his knees, by my horse's side, and in a be-
seeching posture, with his arms extended and
in a howling tone, seemed to ask forgiveness.

I imagined what the matter was (for I could
but just see him, and that too by fits), and spoke
to him with a soft voice, to signify I was not in
anger ; and it appeared afterwards that he ex-
pected to ->be shot, as they have a dreadful
notion of the English.

Thus finding himself in no danger of my
resentment, he addressed himself to the search-
ing about for the way from which he had de-
viated, and in some little time I heard a cry of
joy, and he came and took my horse by the
bridle, and never afterwards quitted it till we
came to my new lodging, which was about q.

326 LETTER XVII.

mile, for it was almost as dark as night. In
the mean time I had given directions to my
man for keeping close to my horse's heels ; and
if any thing should prevent it, to call to me im-
mediately, that I might not lose him.

As good luck would have it, there was but
one small river in the way, and the ford, though
deep and winding, had a smooth, sandy bottom,
which is very rare in the Highlands.

There was another circumstance favourable
to us (I shall not name a third as one, which is
our being not far from the village, for we
might have perished with cold in the night as
well near it as further off), there had not a
very great quantity of snow fallen upon the
mountains, because the air began a little to
clear, though very little, within about a quarter
of a mile of the glen, otherwise we might have
been buried in some cavity hid from us by the
darkness and the snow.

But if this drift, which happened to us upon
some one of the wild moors, had continued,
and we had had far to go, we might have pe-
rished, notwithstanding the knowledge of any
guide whatever.

These drifts are, above all other dangers,
dreaded by the Highlanders ; for my own part,
I could not but think of Mr. Addison's short
description of a whirlwind in the wild, sandy
deserts of Numidia.

LETTER XVIII.

EVERY high wind, in many places of the High-
lands, is a whirlwind. The agitated air, pour-
ing into the narrow and high spaces between
the mountains, being confined in its course, and,
if I may use the expression, pushed on by 9,
crowding rear, till it comes to a bounded hol-
low, or kind of amphitheatre ; — I say, the air, in
that violent motion, is there continually repelled
by the opposite hill, and rebounded from others,
till it finds a passage, insomuch that I have
seen, in the western Highlands, in such a hol-
low, some scattering oaks, with their bark
twisted almost as if it had been done with a
lever.

This, I suppose, was effected when they were
young, and consequently the rest of their
growth was in that figure : and I myself have
met with such rebuffs on every side, from the
whirling of such winds, as are not easy to be
described.

When I came to my inn, (you will think the
word a burlesque), I found it a most wretched

328 LETTER XVI If.

hovel, with several pretty large holes in the
sides; and, as usual, exceedingly smoky.

My apartment had a partition about four feet
high, which separated it from the lodging of
the family ; and, being entered, I called for
straw or heather to stop the gaps. Some
straw was brought ; but no sooner was it ap-
plied than it was pulled away on the outside.

This put me in a very ill humour, thinking
some malicious Highlander did it to plague or
affront me ; and, therefore, I sent my man (who
liad just housed his horses, and was helping
me) to see who it could be ; and immediately
he returned laughing, and told me it was a
poor hungry cow, that was got to the backside
of the hut for shelter, and was pulling out the
straw for provender.

The smoke being something abated, and the
edifice repaired, I began to reflect on the mise-
rable state I had lately been in ; and esteemed
that very hut, which at another time I should
have greatly despised, to be to me as good as
a palace; and, like a keen appetite with ordi-
nary fare, I enjoyed it accordingly, not envying
even the inhabitants of Buckingham-House,

Here I conclude my journal, which I fear you
will think as barren and tedious as the ground
I went over ; but I must ask your patience a
little while longer concerning it, as no great

LETTER XVIII. 329

reason yet appears to you why I should come
to this wretched place, and go no further.

By a change of the wind, there happened to
fall a good deal of rain* in the night ; and I was
told by my landlord the hills presaged more of
it, that a wide river before me was become im-
passable, and if I remained longer in the hills
at that season of the year, I might be shut in
for most part of the winter ; for if fresh snow
should fall, and lie lower down on the mountains
than it did the day before, I could not repass the
precipice, and must wait till the lake was frozen
so hard as to bear my horses : and even then
it was dangerous in those places where the
springs bubble up from the bottom, and render
the ice thin, and incapable to bear any great
weight : — but that, indeed, those weak spots
might be avoided by means of a skilful guide.

As to the narrow path, he said, he was certain
that any snow which might have lodged on it
from the drift was melted by the rain which

* Their weather is not pleasing ; half the year is deluged with
rain. From the autumnal to the vernal equinox a dry day is
hardly known, except when the showers are suspended by a tem-
pest : under such skies can be expected no great exuberance of
vegetation. Heath sometimes shoots up to the. height of six
feet ! Their winter overtakes their summer, and their harvest
lies upon the ground drenched with rain.

Johnsons Journey, Works, vol. viii. 301.

330 LETTER XVIII.

had then ceased. To all this he added a piece
of news (not very prudently, as I thought), which
was, that some time before I passed the preci-
pice, a poor Highlander leading over it his horse
laden with creels, or small panniers, one of them
struck against the upper part of the hill, as he
supposed; and whether the man was endea-
vouring to save his horse, or how it was, he
could not tell, but that they both fell down,
and were dashed to pieces among the rocks.
This to me was very affecting, especially as I
was to pass the same way in my return.*

Thus I was prevented from meeting a num-
ber of gentlemen of a clan, who were to have

* A shepherd in the rough bounds, scrambling over the rocks
on the side of a high mountain, fell and broke his leg. No one
knew that he was in that part of the hill, and the place was so
lonely, that he had no hope of ever seeing a human face again.
It was in vain to call for help, where there was none to hear.
He tried to persuade his dog to go home and alarm his wife and
children; but the poor animal, who saw his distress, without
thoroughly comprehending his meaning, only went a few yards
from him, sat down on the rock, looked at him, looked home-
ward, and howled. As the day advanced, love of life, and the
thought of his wife and children, roused him to exertion. With
his broad tape garters, and stripes of his plaid, he lashed his
broken limb to his fowling-piece, and leaning on the butt-end as
a crutch, made his way down the precipitous side of the moun-
tain, crossed the river, reached his cottage (two miles farther), re-
covered, and was as well as ever !

LETTER XVIII. 331

assembled in a place assigned for our inter-
view, about a day and a half's journey further
in the hills ; and on the other side of the river
were numbers of Highlanders waiting to con-
duct me to them. But I was told, before I
entered upon this peregrination, that no High-
lander would venture upon it at that time of
the year ; yet I piqued myself upon following
the unreasonable directions of such as knew
nothing of the matter.

Now I returned with as hasty steps as the
way you have seen would permit, having met
with no more snow or rain till I got into the
lower country ; and then there fell a very great
storm, as they call it — for by the word storm
they only mean snow. And you may believe I
then hugged myself, as being got clear of the
mountains.

But before I proceed to give you some ac-
count of the natives, I shall, in justice, say
something relating to part of the country of
Athol, which, though Highlands, claims an ex-
ception from the preceding general and gloomy
descriptions ; as may likewise some other places,
not far distant from the borders of the Lowlands,
which I have not seen.

This country is said to be a part of the ancient
Caledonia. The part I am speaking of is n

332 LETTER XVIII.

tract of land, or strath, which lies along the
sides of the Tay, a capital river of the High-
lands.

The mountains, though very high, have an
easy slope a good way up, and are cultivated in
many places, and inhabited by tenants who,
like those below, have a different air from other
Highlanders in the goodness of their dress and
cheerfulness of their countenances.

The strath, or vale, is wide, and beautifully
adorned with plantations of various sorts of
trees: the ways are smooth, and, in one part,
you ride in pleasant glades, in another you have
an agreeable vista. Here you pass through
corn-fields, there you ascend a small height,
from whence you have a pleasing variety of
that wild and spacious river, woods, fields and
neighbouring mountains, which altogether give
a greater pleasure than the most romantic de-
scription in words, heightened by a lively ima-
gination, can possibly do ; but the satisfaction
seemed beyond expression, by comparing it in
our minds with the rugged ways and horrid
prospects of the more northern mountains, when
we passed southward from them, through this
vale to the Low-country ; but, with respect to
Athol in general, I must own that some parts of
it are very rugged and dangerous.

I shall not pretend to give you, as a people,

LETTER XVII I. 333

the original of the Highlanders, having no cer-
tain materials for that purpose; and, indeed,
that branch of history, with respect even to
commonwealths and kingdoms, is generally ei-
ther obscured by time, falsified by tradition, or
rendered fabulous by invention ; nor do I think
it would be of any great importance, could I
trace them up to their source with certainty;
but I am persuaded they came from Ireland,
in regard their language is a corruption of the
Irish tongue.

Spenser, in his " View of the State of Ire-
land," written in the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
sets forth the dress and customs of the Irish;
and, if I remember right, they were, at that time,
very near what the people are now in the High-
lands. But this is by the bye, as having little
relation to antiquity ; for dress is variable, and
customs may be abolished by authority; but
language will baffle the efforts even of a tyrant.*

* The lineage of every people is most accurately traced in their
language. The Scoto-Irish even now speak Gaelic : their pro-
genitors in Ireland always spoke Gaelic, the same Gaelic which
\\e see in the Irish word-books of every age; and the Scoticte
gentes were therefore a Gaelic people. The Scots never spoke
Teutonic ; and they were not therefore a Gothic people, who
spoke the Teutonic and not the Gaelic. The country of the Scots,
as they were themselves Gaelic, must necessarily have been
Gaelic.

This intimation points to Ireland, the Western Land, where the

334 LETTER XVIII.

The Highlanders are exceedingly proud to be
thought an unmixed people, and are apt to up-
braid the English with being a composition of
all nations ; but, for my own part, I think a little
mixture in that sense would do themselves no
manner of harm.

The stature of the better sort, so far as I can
make the comparison, is much the same with the
English, or Low-country Scots, but the common
people are generally small ; nor is it likely that,
by being half- starved in the womb, and never
afterwards well fed, they should by that means
be rendered larger than other people.

How often have 1 heard them described in
London as almost giants in size! and certainly

Scoticte gentes, or Scots, were first found by those intelligent
writers, who take the most early notice of them, in the third and
fourth centuries — in those eventful times, when the Scots moved
all Ireland to enterprize, and when lerne wept the slaughter of
her sons. It is therefore a moral certainty, of great importance in
Irish history, that Ireland, at the epoch of the introduction
of Christianity into that island, was inhabited by the Scots, a
Gaelic people, who spoke the same Gaelic language which we
may see in the Gaelic Scriptures. We are, indeed, informed by
contemporary writers, that the Roman missionaries who produced
that great change, were sent to the Scots in Ireland.

Pope Honorius I. (who died in 683 A. D.) in writing to the
Irish church, on the proper observance of Easter, addressed his
epistle, " Ad Scotorum gentem" Bede, lib. ii. cap. xix. —
Chalmers's Caledonia, i. vol. 269, 270.

LETTER XVIII. 335

there are a great many tall men of them in and
about that city ; but the truth is, when a young
fellow of any spirit happens (as Kite says) to be
born to be a great man, he leaves the country, to
put himself into some foreign service (chiefly
in the army), but the short ones are not com-
monly seen in other countries than their own. I
have seen a hundred of them together come
down to the Lowlands for harvest-work, as the
Welsh come to England for the same purpose,
and but few sizeable men among them; their
women are generally very small.

It has been said, likewise, that none of them
are deformed by crookedness : it is true, I have
not seen many ; for, as I observed of the people
bordering upon the Highlands, none are spoiled
by over care of their shapes. But is it to be
supposed that children who are left to them-
selves, when hardly able to go alone, in such a
rugged country, are free from all accidents ?
Assertions so general are ridiculous. They are
also said to be very healthy and free from dis-
tempers, notwithstanding the great hardships
they endure. Surely an account of that coun-
try from a native is not unlike a Gascon's
account of himself. I own they are not very
subject to maladies occasioned by luxury, but
very liable to fluxes, fevers, agues, coughs, rheu-

336 LETTER XVIII.

matisms, and other distempers, incident to their
way of living; especially upon the approach of
winter, of which I am a witness.

By the way, the poorer sort are persuaded
that wine, or strong malt drink, is a very good
remedy in a fever; and though I never pre-
scribed either of them, I have administered both
with as good success as any medicines pre-
scribed by Doctor Radcliffe.

^Esculapius, even as a god, could hardly have
had a more solemn act of adoration paid him
than I had lately from a Highlander, at whose
hut I lay in one of my journeys. His wife was
then desperately ill of a fever, and I left a bottle
of chateau margout behind me to comfort her, if
she should recover ; for I had then several horses
laden with wine and provisions, and a great
retinue of Highlanders with me.

The poor man fell down on his knees in this
dirty street, and eagerly kissed my hand ; tell-
ing me, in Irish, I had cured his wife with my
good stuff. This caused several jokes from my
countrymen who were present, upon the poor
fellow's value for his wife ; and the doctor him-
self did not escape their mirth upon that occa-
sion.

Having, yesterday, proceeded thus far in my
letter, in order to have the less writing this
evening, I had a retrospection in the morning to

LETTER XVIII. 337

my journal; and could not but be of opinion
that some few additions were necessary to give
you a clearer notion of the inner part of the
country, in regard to the incidents, in that ac-
count, being confined to one short progress, which
could not include all that is wanting to be known
for the purpose intended.

There are few days pass without some rain
or snow in the hills, and it seems necessary
it should be so (if we may suppose Nature ever
intended the worst parts as habitations for hu-
man creatures), for the soil is so shallow and
stony, and in summer the reflection of the sun's
heat from the sides of the rocks is so strong, by
reason of the narrowness of the vales — to which
may be added the violent winds — that otherwise
the little corn they have would be entirely
dried and burnt up for want of proper mois-
ture.

The clouds in their passage often sweep along
beneath the tops of the high mountains, and,
when they happen to be above them, are
drawn, as they pass, by attraction, to the
summits, in plain and visible streams and
streaks, where they are broke, and fall in vast
quantities of water. Nay, it is pretty common
in the high country for the clouds, or some very
dense exhalation, to drive along the part which
is there called the foot of the hills, though very

VOL. i. z

338 LETTER XVIII.

high above the level of the sea ; and I have seen,
more than once, a very fair rainbow described,
at not above thirty or forty yards distance from
me, and seeming of much the same diameter,
having each foot of the semicircle upon the
ground.

An English gentleman, one day, as we stopped
to consider this phenomenon, proposed to ride
into the rainbow ; and though I told him the
fruitless consequence, since it was only a vision
made by his eye, being at that distance ; having
the sun directly behind, and before him the
thick vapour that was passing along at the foot
of the hill ; yet (the place being smooth) he set
up a gallop, and found his mistake, to my great
diversion with him afterwards, upon his con-
fession that he had soon entirely lost it.

I have often heard it told by travellers, as a
proof of the height of Teneriffe, that the clouds
sometimes hide part of that mountain, and at
the same time the top of it is seen above them :
nothing is more ordinary than this in the High-
lands. But I would not, therefore, be thought
to insinuate, that these are as high as that ; but
they may, you see, be brought under the same
description.

Thus you find the immediate source of the
rivers and lakes in the mountains is the clouds,
and not as our rivers, which have their original

LETTER XVIII. 339

from subterraneous aqueducts, that rise in
springs below : but, among the hills, the waters
fall in great cascades and vast cataracts, and
pass with prodigious rapidity through large
rocky channels, with such a noise as almost
deafens the traveller whose way lies along by
their sides. And when these torrents rush
through glens or wider straths, they often plough
up, and sweep away with them, large spots of
the soil, leaving nothing behind but rock or
gravel, so that the land is never to be recovered.
And for this a proportionable abatement is made
in the tenant's rent.

The lakes are very differently situated, with
respect to high and low. There are those which
are vast cavities filled up with water, whereof
the surface is but little higher than the level of
the sea ; but of a surprising depth. As Lake
Ness,* for the purpose, which has been igno-
rantly held to be without a bottom ; but was
sounded by an experienced seamen, when 1 was

* Loch Ness is thus spoken of by the author of The Scots
Chronicle, 1597. — " The water of Naess is almost alwayes
vvarme, and at no time so cold that it freezeth ; yea in the most
cold time of winter, broken ice falling in it is dissolved by the
heat thereof." Dr. Johnson appears to have doubted the truth of
this, and says, " That which is strange is delightful, and a
pleasing error is not willingly detected. Accuracy of narration
is not very common ; and there are few so rigidly philosophical,
as not to represent as perpetual what is only frequent, or as con-

340 LETTER XVIII.

present, and appeared to be one hundred and
thirty fathoms, or two hundred and sixty yards
deep.

It seems to be supplied by two small rivers at
its head ; but the great increase of water is from
the rivers, bourns, and cascades from the high
mountains at which it is bounded at the
water's edge. And it has no other visible issue
but by the river Ness, which is not large ; nor
has the lake any perceptible current, being so
spacious, as more than a mile in breadth and
twenty-one in length. At a place called Foyers,
there is a steep hill close to it, of about a quarter
of a mile to the top, from whence a river pours
into the lake, by three successive wild cataracts,
over romantic rocks; whereon, at each fall, it
dashes with such violence, that in windy wea-
ther the side of the hill is hid from sight for a
good way together by the spray, which looks like
a thick body of smoke. This fall of water has
been compared with the cataracts of the Tiber,
by those who have seen them both.

There are other lakes in large hollows, on the
tops of exceedingly high hills; — I mean, they seem
to any one below, who has only heard of them,

stant what is really casual." The fact is, however, unquestion-
able ; and may be sufficiently accounted for by the extraordinary
depth of the water. — Lord Somers's Tracts, vol. iii. 388. — John-
son's Journey, Works, vol. viii. 236.

LETTER XVIII. 341

to be on the utmost height. But this is a decep-
tion ; for there are other hills behind unseen,
from whence they are supplied with the great
quantity of water they contain. And it is im-
possible that the rain which falls within the
compass of one of those cavities should not
only be the cause of such a profound depth of
water, but also supply thedrainings that descend
from it, and issue out in springs from the sides
of the hills.

There are smaller lakes, which are also seated
high above the plain, and are stored with trout ;
though it seems impossible, by the vast steep-
ness of the bourns on every visible side, that
those fish should have got up thither from rivers
or lakes below. This has often moved the ques-
tion,-— " How came they there ? " But they may
have ascended by small waters, in long windings
out of sight behind, and none steep enough to
cause a wonder ; for I never found there was any
notion of their being brought thither for breed.
But I had like to have forgot that some will
have them to have sprung from the fry carried
from other waters, and dropped in those small
lakes by water-fowl.

In a part of the Highlands called Strath-glass,
there is a lake too high by its situation to be
much affected by the reflection of warmth from
the plain, and too low between the mountains,

342 LETTER XVIII.

which almost join together, to admit the rays of
the sun; for the only opening to it is on the
north side. Here the ice continues all the year
round ; and though it yields a little on the sur-
face to the warmth of the circumambient air by
day, in summer-time, yet at the return of night
it begins to freeze as hard as ever. This I have
been assured of, not only by the proprietor him-
self, but by several others in and near that part
of the country.

I have seen, in a rainy day, from a conflux of
waters above, on a distant high hill, the side of
it covered over with water by an overflowing,
for a very great space, as you may have seen
the water pour over the brim of a cistern, or
rather like its being covered over with a sheet ;
and upon the peeping out of the sun the re-
flected rays have dazzled my eyes to such a
degree, as if they were directed to them by the
focus of a burning-glass.

So much for the lakes.

In one expedition, where I was well at-
tended, as I have said before, there was a river
in my way so dangerous that I was set upon
the shoulders of four Highlanders, my horse
not being to be trusted to in such roughness,
depth, and rapidity ; and I really thought some-
times we should all have gone together. In the
same journey the shoulders of some of them

LETTER XVIII. 343

were employed to ease the horses down from
rock to rock; and all that long day I could
make out but nine miles. This also was called
a road.

Toward the end of another progress, in my
return to this town, after several hazards from
increasing waters, I was at length stopped by a
small river that was become impassable. There
happened, luckily for me, to be a public hut in
this place, for there was no going back again ;
but there was nothing to drink except the
water of the rivdr. This I regretted the more,
as I had refused, at one of the barracks, to ac-
cept of a bottle of old hock, on account of the
carriage, and believing I should reach hither
before night. In about three hours after my
arrival at this hut, there appeared, on the other
side of the water, a parcel of merchants with
little horses loaded with roundlets of usky.

Within sight of the ford was a bridge, AS they
called it, made for the convenience of this place ;
it was composed of two small fir-trees, not
squared at all, laid, one beside the other, across
a narrow part of the river, from rock to rock : there
were gaps and intervals between those trees, and,
beneath, a most tumultuous fall of water. Some
of my merchants, bestriding the bridge, edged
forwards, and moved the usky vessels before
them ; but the others, afterwards, to my sur-

344 LETTER XVIII.

prise, walked over this dangerous passage, and
dragged their garrons through the torrent, while
the poor little horses were almost drowned with
the surge.

I happened to have a few lemons left, and
with them I so far qualified the ill-taste of the
spirit as to make it tolerable ; but eatables there
were none, except eggs and poor starved fowls,
as usual.

The usky men were my companions, whom
it was expected I should treat according to
custom, there being no partition to separate
them from me ; and thus I parsed a part of the
day and great part of the night in the smoke,
and dreading the bed :* but my personal ha-
zards, wants, and inconveniences, among the
hills, have been so many, that I shall trouble
you with no more of them, or very sparingly, if
I do at all.

Some of the bogs are of large extent, and
many people have been lost in them, especially

* Mr. Boswell thus describes one of those inns, at which him-
self and Dr. Johnson slept : — " The room had some deals laid
across the joists as a kind of ceiling ; there were two beds in the
room, and a woman's gown was hung on a rope, to make a cur-
tain of separation between them. We had much hesitation whe-
ther to undress, or lie down with our clothes on : at last I said,
' I'll plunge in !' and the idea of filth and vermin made Johnson
feel like one hesitating whether to go into the cold bath."— Bos-
well's Tour, 127.

LETTER XVIII. 345

after much rain in time of snow, as well as in
the lesser mosses, as they call them, where, in
digging of peat, there have been found fir-trees
of a good magnitude, buried deep, and almost
as hard as ebony. This, like the situation of
the mountains, is attributed to Noah's flood,
for they conclude the trees have lain there ever
since that time, though it may be easily other-
wise accounted for. But what seems extraor-
dinary to strangers is, that there are often deep
bogs on the declivities of hills, and the higher
you go the more you are bogged.

In a part called Glengary, in my return hither
from the west Highlands, I found a bog, or a
part of one, had been washed down by some
violent torrent from the top of a hill into the
plain, and the steep slope was almost covered
over with the muddy substance that had rested
there in its passage downwards. This made a
pretty deep bog below, as a gentleman who
was with me found from his curiosity to try it,
being deceived by the surface, which was dried
by the sun and wind, for he forced his horse
into it, and sank, which surprised my compa-
nion, who, I thought, should have known better,
being of Ireland.

I have heretofore hinted the danger of being
shut in by waters, and thereby debarred from
all necessaries of life, but have not yet men-

VOL. i. 2 A

346 LETTER XVIII.

tioned the extent of the hills that intervene
between one place of shelter and another ; and
indeed it is impossible to do so in general ; for
they are sometimes nine or ten Scots miles
over, and one of them in particular that I have
passed is eighteen, wherein you frequently meet
with rivers, and deep, rugged channels in the
sides of the mountains, which you must pass,
and these last are often the most dangerous of
the two ; and both, if continued rains should
fall, become impassable before you can attain
the end, for which a great deal of time is re-
quired, by the stoniness and other difficulties ot
the way. There is, indeed, one alleviation ; that
as these rivers may, from being shallow, be-
come impracticable for the tallest horse in two
or three hours time, yet will they again be pas-
sable, from their velocity, almost as soon, if the
rain entirely cease. When the Highlanders
speak of these spaces they call them " monts,
without either house or hall;" and never at-
tempt to pass them, if the tops of the moun-
tains presage bad weather ; yet in that they are
sometimes deceived by a sudden change of
wind.

All this way you may go without seeing a
tree, or coming within two miles of a shrub ;
and when you come at last to a small spot of
arable land, where the rocky feet of the hills

LETTER XVIII. 347

seive for enclosure, what work do they make
about the beauties of the place, as though one
had never seen a field of oats before !

You know that a polite behaviour is common,
to the army; but as it is impossible it should
be universal, considering the different tempers
and other accidents that attend mankind, so we
have here a certain captain, who is almost illi-
terate, perfectly rude, and thinks his courage
and strength are sufficient supports to his
incivilities.

This officer finding a laird at one of the pub-
lic huts in the Highlands, and both going the
same way, they agreed to bear one another
company the rest of the journey. After they
had ridden about four miles, the laird turned
to him, and said, " Now all the ground we
have hitherto gone over is my own property." —
" By G — !" says the other, " I have an apple-
tree in Herefordshire that I would not swop
with you for it all."

But to give you a better idea of the distance
between one inhabited spot and another, in a
vast extent of country (main and island), I shall
acquaint you with what a chief was saying of
his quondam estate. He told me, that if he
was reinstated, and disposed to sell it, 1
should have it for the purchase-money of three-
pence an acfe.

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I

348 LETTER XVIII.

I did not then take much notice of what he
said, it being at a tavern in Edinburgh, and
pretty late at night, but, upon this occasion of
writing to you, I have made some calculation
of it, and find I should have been in danger to
have had a very bad bargain. It is said to
have been reduced by a survey to a rectangle
parallelogram, or oblong square, of sixty miles
by forty, which is 2,400 square miles and
1,951,867 square acres. It is called 1,500/.
a-year rent, but the collector said he never re-
ceived 900 /.

Now the aforesaid number of acres, at '3d.
per acre, amounts to 24,398/. 6s. 9d. — and 900/.
per annum, at twenty-five years purchase, is
but 22,500/.; the difference is 1,896/. 6s. 9d.

There are other observations that might not
be improper, but I shall now defer them, and
continue my account of the people, which has
likewise been deferred in this letter.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

S. Curtis, Camb«rv*U Press.

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